GREEN BAY, Wis. (WSAU) — The former University of Wisconsin Oshkosh student caught making the deadly chemical risin in his apartment will spend time in a federal prison. 27-year-old Kyle Allen Smith entered a guilty plea to federal charges in March. He was sentenced this week to 3 1/2 years in a federal prison.
Smith admitted growing castor beans and extracting ricin from them. Oshkosh police and the Wisconsin National Guard found 1½ grams of ricin in Smith’s apartment near campus on Halloween of 2014.
An additional criminal charge of developing a toxin for use as a weapon was dropped as part of a plea agreement.
In a 2014 search warrant affidavit, Smith was quoted as telling a concerned professor, “They are all interested in life, and I am interested in, like, ending it.” Smith had also mentioned a fascination with chemical weapons, but he did not express a desire to harm anyone. Authorities found the deadly powder in a glass vial in Smith’s home.
Experts say risin can cause respiratory failure if it’s inhaled.
