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Did a southern-fried feud over MENSA, taekwondo



The deadly serious case of ricin-laced letters being sent to President Barack Obama, a U.S. Senator and a local judge has turned into a bizarre tale of a southern-fried feud between two Mississippi men who are both reportedly MENSA members, taekwondo experts and musicians. Each man says the other is crazy.


Kevin Curtis, the Elvis impersonator charged with sending the poison letters last week, says he may have been framed by J. Everett Dutschke, an accused child molester, martial arts instructor and political candidate with whom he has been rivals for several years.


Federal authorities on Tuesday dropped all charges against Curtis and spent several hours searching Dustschke's house in Tupelo, Mississippi. Dutschke addressed the media and denied he sent the ricin letters.


While the comedic drama plays out in a series of baffling TV interviews given by both sides, the FBI remains mum about its investigation - and how agents managed to nab the wrong suspect and hold him for nearly a week.


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Southern-fried feud: J Everett Dutschke, left, and Kevin Curtis, right, are both caught up in the federal investigation over poison letters sent to the president. They are both also martial arts rivals



Sweet relief: Paul Kevin Curtis, who had been in custody under suspicion of sending ricin-laced letters to President Obama and others, left, hugs his attorney Christi McCoy during a news conference following his release Tuesday







Defending himself: Dutschke told reporters he had no involvement in the ricin case as authorities combs through his house on Tuesday

Dutschke has not been named as a suspect by authorities and has not been arrested.

However, he admitted a longstanding animosity with Curtis. Dutschke says he is a member of MENSA, the society for high-IQ individuals. Curtis claims to be a member of the group, as well.

'He is not a MENSA member,' Dutschke emphatically said as federal agents and hazmat crews combed his house. 'The certificate he posted online is a lie.'

During a strange and rambling press conference on Tuesday, Curtis said Dutschke 'hates him.' He offered several reasons why.


'I don't if it’s a martial arts kind of conflict and he thinks you’re better than him and he wants to challenge you in the rink. I don’t know,' he said.


Both men are trained in the Korean martial art of taekwondo and they agreed to a showdown at a local martial arts studio in Tupelo.


'At one point on the phone I did say, "If you wanna meet somewhere just you and I..." and he said, "Taekwondo Plus, Main Street." I said, "I’ll be there in 20 minutes."



'Framed': Kevin Curtis, who works as an Elvis impersonator, may have been set up by a man who was once his brother's business partner, his lawyer says




Accused: J Everett Dutschke, right, had his home raided by federal agents on Tuesday after Curtis lawyer alleged he might be behind the ricin attack. He is seen here with Senator Roger Wicker



Denial: Dutschke has said he had nothing to do with the ricin attacks and is a 'patriotic American'

BIZARRE WORDS FROM SUBJECTS IN RICIN CASE


'He is not a MENSA member. The certificate he posted online is a lie,' J Everett Duschke said of Kevin Curtis as reporters as federal authorities searched his home
'I've never heard of ricin or whatever. I thought they said rice. I told them I don't eat rice,' Curtis said at press conference
'Christie McCoy was amazing. In the jungle of the law and court, you have monkeys, you have kangaroos and you have lions. She was the lion queen. She was just amazing,' Curtis told CNN's Piers Morgan
Curtis on his first meeting with Duschke: 'I said "Here I am. You want to interview me about how I found body parts in a refrigerator of the North Mississippi Medical Center and you will publish my story?"'

Curtis describing his attorney to CNN's Chris Cuomo: 'She's like Perry Mason on crack.'


'I drove there. He wasn’t there. Then he sent me an email, "Come back tomorrow at 7 and the results of you being splattered all over the pavement for all the world to see what a blank blank blank blank you are." And then at that point I knew that I was dealing with a coward.'

Both men are also musicians. Dutschke plays blues guitar and has released several albums under the name Dusty and the Robodrum. Curtis tours across the south as an Elvis impersonator.

It's all nonsense, Dutschke told reporters on Tuesday.


'He’s crazy. He’s just a little nutty. I don’t have a relationship with him,' Dutschke said.


Curtis, for his part, said Dutschke is 'delusional.'


In a CNN interview on Tuesday, Curtis' lawyer Christi McCoy said her client has mental issues. Federal authorities wanted to have him evaluated for competency before trying him in court.


Curtis heaped praise on his lawyer for fighting for him and ensuring he was quickly exonerated.


'In the jungle of the law and court, you have monkeys, you have kangaroos and you have lions. She was the lion queen. She was just amazing,' he told CNN's Piers Morgan.


'I've never heard of ricin or whatever. I thought they said rice. I told them I don't eat rice,' Curtis said at a press conference Tuesday, describing the moment he was questioned by federal authorities.


McCoy said whoever framed her client was able to lead the FBI to his door simply by including Curtis' catch-phrase 'I'm KC and I approve this message' and a few other clues in the threatening notes that were mailed to Washington.

Musician: Kevin Curtis works as an Elvis impersonator and performs music for a living. He once performed for Senator Roger Wicker, one of the politicians who received ricin in the mail


McCoy suggested in court on Monday that federal authorities should instead investigate Dutschke.

She later told CNN that federal agents have not recovered any physical evidence tying Curtis to the poisoned letters.

On Tuesday afternoon, six days after Curtis was arrested, the U.S. Attorney dropped terrorism charges against him. He had been accused of sending letters laces with the deadly poison ricin to the offices of Obama, Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker and Lee County Judge Sadie Holland.

'I respect President Obama. I love my country and would never do anything to pose a threat to him or any other U.S. official,' Curtis said Tuesday.

McCoy suggested in federal court on Monday that Dutschke is one of the men who the FBI should investigate in the ricin case.


Dutschke, she said, is a former friend of Curtis and that the two had a falling out over a book Curtis wrote called 'Missing Pieces.'


On Friday afternoon ten local officers and federal agents raided Dutschke's house in Tupelo and searched it. Dutschke denied any involvement in the ricin case on Tuesday.

'I'm a patriotic American. I don't have any grudges against anybody. I did not send the letters,' Dutschke said.

He said he was asked to take a lie detector and that police had previously questioned him as well.


Dutschke and Curtis are both musicians, are both politically active and are both heavily interested in martial arts.

Dutske was arrested early this year and charged with molesting three girls - including a teenager he 'touched' between 2007 and 2011, an eight-year-old girl and a seven-year-old girl.

He has not yet stood trial for the charges and is free after posting $25,000 bail.





Elvis impersonator Kevin Curtis freed



Found nothing: Curtis' lawyer said that despite extensive searches of his home, federal agents did not recover any physical evidence linking Curtis to the ricin letters

McCoy said that whoever framed her client dropped obvious clues that led federal investigators to arrest Curtis.


Curtis made several posts on Facebook about the 'organ donation industry.' He signed each of his posts with the phrase 'I'm KC and I approve this message.'


He also authored a book on organ donation called 'Missing Pieces.' The poison-laced notes included a reference to the book, as well.

A day earlier, FBI Agent Brandon Grant testified searches on Friday of Curtis' vehicle and house in Corinth, Mississippi, found no ricin, ingredients for the poison, or devices used to make it. A search of Curtis' computers found no evidence he researched making ricin.


'There was no apparent ricin, castor beans or any material there that could be used for the manufacturing, like a blender or something,' Grant testified. He speculated that Curtis could have thrown away the processor.

McCoy believes the only explanation is that somebody else set her client up.

'It's horrific that somebody would do this, but yes, I believe that's what happened,' McCoy said.

Still, Grant testified that authorities believed they have the right suspect.

'Given the right mindset and the Internet and the acquisition of material, other people could be involved. However, given information right now, we believe we have the right individual,' he said.


Suspect: The FBI has arrested a suspect accused of sending letters laced with ricin to President Obama, pictured on Wednesday, and a Mississippi senator










Hound dog: Curtis posted hordes of pictures on his Myspace page showing him from the 1980s and 90s


Grant said lab analysis shows the poison in the letters was in a crude form that could have been created by grinding castor beans in a food processor or coffee grinder.

Grant testified Friday that authorities tried to track down the sender of the letters by using a list of Wicker's constituents with the initials KC, the same initials in the letters.


Grant said the list was whittled from thousands to about 100 when investigators isolated the ones who lived in an area that would have a Memphis, Tennessee, postmark, which includes many places in north Mississippi. He said Wicker's staff recognized Curtis as someone who had written the senator before.

All the envelopes and stamps were self-adhesive, Grant said Monday, meaning they won't yield DNA evidence. He said thus far the envelopes and letters haven't yielded any fingerprints.

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