Man Dead, Large Amount Of Possible Cyanide Found

Reporting
Rick Sallinger
E-mail

DENVER (CBS4) ¯ It has the makings of international intrigue. Less than two weeks before the Democratic National Convention a man has been found dead in a Denver hotel room with a container of what authorities initially suspect to be the deadly poison cyanide.

Adding to the intrigue is that the dead man, Saleman Abdirahman Dirie, 29, appears to be from outside the U.S. No passport was found on Dirie, who is believed to have entered the country from Canada.

A large container of a white powdery substance was found in the man's room on the fourth floor of The Burnsley Hotel at 10th Avenue and Grant Street.

Tests are now being done by the Denver Police Crime Lab to determine exactly what the substance is. The tests could take days.

It's believed Dirie died from something other than the substance that was in the container.

Denver police are leading the investigation of the man's death. The FBI and other governmental agencies, including the Joint Terrorism Task Force, are assisting in the probe. Hazardous materials assistance has included the Colorado State Patrol and the Colorado National Guard.

"Our Joint Terrorism Task Force is involved in this simply because the victim here is from another country and it just kind of makes sense that our terrorism guys would take a look a look at this," FBI Special Agent in Charge James Davis said.

Davis told CBS 4 that nothing so far has been found to link the case to terrorism or the coming convention.

"I don't see how anybody could do anything but look into the possibility that this is a potential terrorist attack," said Dr. Andrew Ternay, a Department of Defense contractor.

Candace: Muslim name, Cyanide, he's dead, murder? and a way to set up a story, that when the DNC is attacked, the muslims, (hint Iran) did it.

Ternay has worked with the Pentagon for 25 years. He's published text books and written "The Language of Nightmares" which is a glossary of all things deadly, including cyanide.

"The very first thought that came to my mind was murder, or somebody who's got to kill an awful lot of rodents because years ago cyanide used to be used to kill rats and roaches," said Ternay. "A tablespoon would be enough to kill you. Less actually."

Authorities said The Burnsley Hotel is safe and is open for business.

Cyanide can be made from plants in very small amounts. It can be a gas, liquid or powder. It prevents the body from using oxygen and therefore is more harmful to the heart and brain than other organs.

"It was used in concentration camps in World War II and by Saddam Hussein against the Kurds in the 1990s," CBD4 Medical Editor Dr. Dave Hnida said. "And put it in a little capsule, it is in fact used as a suicide pill just like you see in the movies."

Officials said cyanide can be used as a terrorist weapon if it is dumped in water put in food, sprayed as a gas, or many other methods.

Ternay said the question with cyanide is how pure it is. If the powder is only 10 percent cyanide, it is not nearly as lethal.

Ternay said cyanide can be easy to get if you want a quarter of a pound. Filling out some paperwork is all that is required to order it.

Larger amounts of 50 pounds or more are tougher to come by.

The investigation is continuing.

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http://cbs4denver.com/local/burnsley.hotel.death.2.793573.html

Here's a later article. Man is Somalian and it is cyanide found:

Pound Of Cyanide Found In Room Where Man Died

Reporting
Rick Sallinger
E-mail

DENVER (AP/CBS4) ― Authorities say they found about a pound of sodium cyanide in a Denver hotel room where the body of a Canadian man was discovered. The man of Somali descent may have also made Internet postings last month of a deadly nature.

Police on Wednesday identified the white powder as sodium cyanide. Fire officials say they found a bottle containing about a pound of the white powder, or between a pint and a quart by volume.

Sources told CBS4 the bottle was hidden in the room, although authorities won't verify that. (Candace: hidden or planted????)

FBI spokeswoman Kathy Wright said the agency's Joint Terrorism Task Force is assisting in the investigation, but she said the incident has is no apparent connection to terrorism.

"At this point we don't have any nexus to terrorism," Wright said.

Denver Police Chief Gerry Whitman said he doesn't have any reason to believe the case is related to terrorism or the Democratic convention.

"The information I get from the FBI is 'No,'" Whitman said about the case being related to terrorism. "We have to investigate it still in conjunction with FBI just to make sure we tie down all the loose ends."

Cyanide is a fast-acting chemical that, when inhaled or ingested, prevents the body from processing oxygen. It's used in manufacturing, metallurgy and pest extermination. It can also be mixed with certain acids to produce extremely lethal cyanide gas, according to the Department of Justice. It is commercially available.

"Certainly a tablespoon of sodium cyanide would be enough to kill you," said Dr. Andrew Ternay, a chemicals expert.

The medical examiner's office said it is still awaiting test results to determine whether cyanide killed Saleman Abdirahman Dirie, 29 of Ottawa.

His body was found Monday at The Burnsley Hotel, about four blocks from the state Capitol. Investigators say he had been dead for several days.

Police spokesman John White said foul play is not suspected and investigators believe it's an isolated incident.

A person with a name similar to Dirie posted a threat on an Internet site on July 11.

"Please don't talk s.... That man deserves what happened to him, simply because having the bible in one hand, and a bread in the other hand, is not a correct thing! Kill Them, Kill them, Kill them, that is my message."

The Rocky Mountain News reports the posting is causing chatter among bloggers online. The posting apparently was made during a discussion about violence against Somali Christians, and Dirie apparently was taking the side of the Somali Muslims.

Authorities have not listed Dirie's occupation or said why he may have had cyanide.

The Canadian Consulate in Denver said members of Dirie's family were in Colorado to make arrangements to return his body to Canada.

Addirizuk Karod, manager of Ottawa's Somali Centre for Family Services, told the Ottawa Sun that Dirie was a member of the city's Somali community and had been to the center with friends.

Karod told the newspaper the Dirie family had left Somalia as refugees years ago and had become Canadian citizens.