Former UW Oshkosh Student Sentenced For Making Ricin

The 21-year-old former UW-Oshkosh man
suspected of making the deadly toxin ricin has been sentenced to 40 months in
federal prison. Kyle Smith was sentenced Friday in a federal courtroom in Green
Bay. Two of his professors at the UW-Oshkosh told campus authorities Smith had
been making inquiries about the process for making ricin. According to the plea
agreement Smith admitted growing castor bean plants and extracting ricin from
the beans. Smith admitted to having homicidal thoughts. He said he would not
have tested or used the ricin on anyone because too many people knew what he was
doing and would turn him in. Authorities searched his residence last October
31st where they found a substance that did test positive for ricing. A section
of the street was shut down during the search. The case was investigated by
Oshkosh Police, the FBI and UW-Oshkosh Police.