Paul Kevin Curtis addressed media after his charges were dropped. / Thomas Graning
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — The investigation into poisoned letters mailed to President Barack Obama and others has shifted from an Elvis impersonator to his longtime foe, and authorities must now figure out if an online feud between the two men might have escalated into something more sinister.
Paul Kevin Curtis, 45, was released from a north Mississippi jail on Tuesday and charges against him were dropped, nearly a week after authorities charged him with sending ricin-laced letters to the president, Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi and an 80-year-old Lee County, Miss., Justice Court judge, Sadie Holland.
Before Curtis left jail, authorities had already descended on the home of 41-year-old Everett Dutschke in Tupelo, a northeast Mississippi town best known as the birthplace of the King himself. On Wednesday, they searched the site of a Tupelo martial arts studio once operated by Dutschke, who hasn’t been arrested or charged.
Dutschke’s attorney, Lori Nail Basham, said he is “cooperating fully” with investigators and that no arrest warrant had been issued.
After being released from jail Tuesday, Curtis, who performs as Elvis and other celebrities, described a bizarre, years long feud between the two, but Dutschke insisted he had nothing to do with the letters.
Hal Neilson, one of the attorneys for Curtis, has said the defense gave authorities a list of people who may have had a reason to hurt Curtis, and that Dutschke’s name came up. Efforts to reach Curtis, his lawyers and his brother were unsuccessful on Wednesday.
Both men say they have met Wicker, and they each have a connection to Holland.
Authorities say the letters were mailed April 8, but the one sent to Holland was the only one to make it into the hands of an intended target. Her son, Democratic state Rep. Steve Holland of Plantersville, said his mother did a “smell test” of the envelope and a substance in it irritated her nose. The judge was not sickened by what authorities say was a crude form of the poison, which is derived from castor beans.
Judge Holland has declined to comment on the case.
She was presiding judge in a case in which Curtis was accused of assaulting a Tupelo attorney in 2003. Holland sentenced Curtis to six months in the county jail. He served only part of the sentence, according to his brother.
On Wednesday, dozens of investigators were searching at a small retail space where neighboring business owners said Dutschke used to operate a martial arts studio. Officers at the scene wouldn’t comment on what they were doing.
Dutschke told the AP on Wednesday morning that he and his wife had gone to a friend’s house because they didn’t feel safe at their home. He didn’t immediately respond to messages Wednesday afternoon.
“They ripped everything out of the house,” he said, adding: “I haven’t slept at all.”
