A Vermont retirement community resident made ricin and tested the deadly toxin on her neighbors by putting it on their food or in beverages over a period of weeks, investigators said.
Betty Miller, 70, told an FBI agent that she wanted to ‘injure herself’ and was testing the poison’s effectiveness on other residents at the Wake Robin senior living facility, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court on Thursday.
Police were called to the senior community in Shelburne on Tuesday after Miller told heath care providers at the UVM Medical Center she had manufactured the ricin and placed it on other residents’ food and beverages, the agent said in the complaint.
Betty Miller, 70, admitted to testing self-made ricin on residents of the Wake Robin senior living facility in Shelburne, Vermont
Miller told health care providers she made the ricin and placed in other residents’ food and beverages and afterwards police were called
The Vermont Health Department says it’s aware of one person who likely became ill with ricin poisoning from the deadly toxin found.
But the Health Department said Friday that no one is currently ill with ricin poisoning. Officials say symptoms would have appeared 24 hours after ingesting it.
Miller said she harvested 30 to 40 castor beans from plants growing on Wake Robin’s property and made 2 to 3 tablespoons of ricin twice in her kitchen, the complaint said. She exposed other residents to the ricin on at least three occasions, the complaint said.
The Vermont Health Department says it’s aware of one person who likely became ill with ricin poisoning from the deadly toxin found
Investigators found a pill bottle half full with powder labeled as ricin in a basket in a kitchen cabinet of Miller’s apartment a midst other pill bottles labeled ‘apple seed,’ ”cherry seed’ and ‘yew seed,’ the complaint said.
The powder tested positive for ricin. Investigators also found instructions for making ricin that apparently were from the internet, the affidavit said.
Miller was scheduled for an initial court appearance on Friday on charges of possessing ricin, which is a biological weapon.
If inhaled, ricin causes difficulty breathing and other symptoms including vomiting, diarrhea and hallucinating
She was scheduled for an initial court appearance on Friday on charges of possessing ricin which is a biological weapon
While not much is known about Miller, WCAX did report that the woman had a lengthy mental health history read by a federal judge during the court appearance.
Miller is still in US Marshal custody and returns to court on Wednesday for a probable cause and detention hearing.
A federal public defender did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
If inhaled, ricin causes difficulty breathing and other symptoms. If ingested, symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, hallucinations and seizures. Initial symptoms of ricin poisoning are most likely to occur within four to 10 hours of exposure.