07.29.16
Suicide by ricin
One suicide by ingestion of castor powder containing ricin in Boulder, Colorado, this month:
An 18-year-old Boulder man, [Ryan Levine], died Wednesday night after police say he intentionally ingested the deadly poison ricin, which he had manufactured in his home.
Boulder County Coroner Emma Hall identified the man as Ryan Levine and said that the exact cause and manner of his death are still being investigated. Levine died at the University of Colorado Hospital, according to the coroner’s office.
Levine is believed to have purposely ingested the ricin and died later that night, according to a news release.
Spotty information from July 8, no updates.
A week later another teenager in Lakewood, New Jersey, attempted suicide with castor but survived:
A 19-year-old man’s suicide attempt in Lakewood Monday prompted an investigation by the county hazmat team, as well as federal authorities.
Police say that the unidentified teen tried to take his own life by ingesting a poisonous substance he claimed to be ricin. Police say that he later changed his mind, vomited and went to the hospital to seek treatment.
Officials say that preliminary test results showed evidence of castor beans, one of the ingredients used to make ricin, but the substance was not ricin itself.
Reports of ricin at hospital or in the emergency activate a national security response, put in place after 9/11 and the anthrax attacks.
“Lakewood officials called in the state police, FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Force to investigate the incident,” it reads.
In contrast to this odd cluster, there have been no deaths or injuries due to terrorism by ricin in the last 15 years.