FBI joins hotel cyanide inquiry; victim identified
By Hector Gutierrez, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published August 13, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
Photo by Javier Manzano © The Rocky
The FBI, in conjunction with Hazmat and the Denver National Guard, prepare to enter an apartment building at the northeast corner of Grant and 10th avenue in Denver, the morning after a man was found dead inside his unit, with apparent toxic substances. Kathy Wright, a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation said that the public was not at risk and that they were only taking the necessary precautions.
Photo by Javier Manzano © The Rocky
The FBI, in conjunction with Hazmat and the Denver National Guard, prepare to enter an apartment building at the northeast corner of Grant and 10th avenue in Denver, the morning after a man was found dead inside his unit, with apparent toxic substances. Kathy Wright, a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation said that the public was not at risk and that they were only taking the necessary precautions.
The FBI and local authorities are trying to sort out the mystery of what happened to a man found dead at the Burnsley Hotel in Denver's Capitol Hill neighborhood with a foreign substance that the coroner's office said might be cyanide.
On Tuesday, the man was identified as Saleman Abdirahman Dirie, a 29-year-old Canadian. Denver police said they believe he had been dead for several days before officers found him Monday morning.
"Because of the suspicious nature of the death and the unidentified substance - it leads to a lot of questions," Special Agent Kathy Wright, an FBI spokeswoman, said Tuesday.
The coroner's office said it completed an autopsy Tuesday, but medical examiners can't determine the manner and cause of death until they have the results of lab tests. Foul play is not suspected.
Denver police released a statement that officials at the coroner's office suspected the presence of cyanide when they received the body. Hazardous materials teams from several jurisdictions, including the FBI, found a jar in the fourth-floor room where the victim was staying that held between a pint and a quart of an unknown substance.
Investigators became concerned that they might be dealing with cyanide because the jar contained labeling that suggested it could be the deadly chemical, fire Lt. Philip Champagne said.
A source familiar with the case said authorities were looking at the possibility that the chemical was sodium cyanide.
The Department of Justice has classified sodium cyanide as a toxic chemical that, when mixed with strong acids, can be used as a chemical weapon.
Members of the 8th Civil Support Team of the Colorado National Guard were at the hotel Tuesday morning to provide support to local emergency responders, Capt. Robert Bell said in an e-mail.
Although the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force was alerted and is helping in the investigation, Wright emphasized that agents do not have information that would lead them to believe that the victim was a "terrorist or has terrorist ties."
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Shadow writes:
Victem was not a terrorist or had terrorist ties? Hmmm, a terrorist is one who uses any means that terrorises the public. Having a quart of such a deadly substance would lean towards the idea of terrorist intent.
This is troubleing and should have people thinking hard and long about all the dignitaries and protestors coming to town. Such an influx of people is bad enuff. But now to have one found dead with a chemical agent is scary.
For what purpose would someone have a quart of cynide in thier possesion in a hotel room? I am not familiar with the uses of cynide other then to poison people. If anyone can shed some light for me as to what other purposes cynide has I would appreciate it.