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 The student, Daniel Harry Milzman, made the white powder with
materials he bought at local stores, including The Home Depot and
American Plant Company, according to an affidavit filed in court on
Thursday. He found the recipe for making it by doing a search on his
iPhone, investigators said.
Wearing goggles and a dust mask for protection, Milzman used Epsom
salts and castor beans, among other materials, to make the ricin in
his dorm room about a month ago, according to the affidavit. He
stored what he had made in plastic bags sealed with hockey tape.
On Tuesday evening, for reasons that are unclear, Milzman showed
some of his ricin to his residential adviser, who promptly contacted
the university's counseling services, who, in turn, called the
police, the affidavit said.
Milzman described his efforts during an interview with FBI agents
later that day, the affidavit said. A federal laboratory tested the
contents of the bags and confirmed that they contained the ricin
toxin.
Milzman remained in custody Friday evening, pending a hearing on
March 25, Jacqueline Maguire, an FBI spokeswoman, said. She said
that the law enforcement agency did not believe Milzman had a
connection to terrorists or to a terrorist plot.
Danny Oronato, a lawyer representing Milzman, declined to comment on
the case.
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Georgetown University said in a statement on Wednesday that no one
had been found suffering from exposure to ricin, and that it had
paid contractors who specialize in dealing with biological hazards
to clean Milzman's room.
"There is no immediate threat to members of the Georgetown
community," the statement said.
(Reporting by Sharon Bernstein; editing by Jonathan Allen)
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