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Pound Of Cyanide Found In Room Where Man Died

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Aug 13, 2008 6:39 pm US/Mountain

Pound Of Cyanide Found In Room Where Man Died

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.

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.

(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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