Who is Jason Siesser? Missouri man who purchased lethal neurotoxin to kill hundreds sentenced to 12 years
Jason Siesser from Missouri has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to all charges involving him sourcing and purchasing a lethal neurotoxin on the dark web. He bought enough to kill around 300 people.
Siesser ordered a total of five 10-milliliter units of dimethylmercury, a highly volatile, reactive, flammable, and colorless neurotoxin on July 4 and August 5 of 2018. The chemical reportedly can cause severe mercury poisoning, causing slurred speech, vomiting, blindness, physical impairment, loss of hearing, coma, and even death.
RELATED ARTICLES
Who is Jason Siesser?
According to a report in Newsweek, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) said that the chemical that Siesser had tried to purchase in bulk was capable of killing around 300 people. He reportedly used the dark web which can only be accessed by users when they use special software. This software allows users to stay untraceable and anonymous while they surf the dark web.
Siesser used $150 worth of bitcoin which is a digital cryptocurrency for his purchase. He also used the account of a juvenile, without having informed the said juvenile about what he was doing. However, the US DOJ did not reveal how Siesser had managed to gain the minor person's information in the first place.
However, the statement from DOJ said, "A controlled delivery of a package that contained an inert substance was made to Siesser’s residence on Aug. 23, 2018. Siesser believed the package contained the chemical weapon he had ordered, signed for the package, and took it inside the residence."
Siesser also reportedly informed the sellers that he had planned on using the chemical weapon soon after procuring it. However, DOJ said that they doubted Siesser had any plans for a public attack. Siesser's residence was searched after officials got the search warrant and they found the chemicals that he had ordered on the dark web. It was noted that they were 'inactive'.
Along with the neurotoxin that he had ordered, he also had 100 grams of cadmium metal, approximately 500 milliliters of hydrochloric acid, and 10 grams of cadmium arsenide, a toxic compound that can be deadly if ingested or inhaled, at his residence. Officials also found an invoice indicating that the other three chemicals were bought on March 30, 2018.
Siesser pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to acquire a chemical weapon and one count of aggravated identity theft. He was sentenced on Tuesday, April 6, by a Jefferson City federal court.
In a similar case, North Carolina resident Joshua Hunsucker was accused of allegedly poisoning his wife with eye drops in 2019. According to court documents, Hunsucker added the chemical ingredient tetrahydrozoline into her water. While this chemical is used to treat eye redness or irritation, when ingested in large amounts, it can be toxic.