Shelburne Ricin Suspect With Mental Health Past To Stay Detained

BURLINGTON, VT — Betty Miller, the 70-year-old woman accused of making ricing and testing the deadly toxin on fellow residents at a high-end senior living facility in Shelburne, has an extensive mental health history that includes hospitalizations and suicide attempts, a federal judge said on Wednesday. Miller was ordered to remain detained, though her lawyer is searching for a more appropriate place for her other than jail, given her mental state.

Miller told investigators last week she made the ricin because she wanted to hurt herself, and tested the poison's effectiveness by putting it in residents' food or beverages.

Health officials tested one of the people Miller said she poisoned and the results came back positive for the presence of ricinine, an indicator of potential ricin exposure. The result could also indicate exposure to other castor derivatives, including castor oil. The Health Department on Friday said no one at the senior living facility is currently ill.

Miller said she harvested 30 to 40 castor beans from plants growing on Wake Robin's property and made two or three tablespoons of ricin twice in her kitchen and exposed residents to the ricin on at least three occasions, the federal complaint says.

A powder found in a pill bottle in Miller's kitchen cabinet labeled "ricin" tested positive for the toxin, the complaint says.

Judge John Conroy noted that Miller had no prior criminal history, no substance abuse and strong family ties. Her detention will be revisited if an appropriate treatment plan is found, he said.

Miller had lived for a long time in New Hampshire after marrying Dr. Joseph Miller in 1976. The couple had two children, including a son who lives in Vermont. He did not return a phone call seeking comment. After retiring, Joseph Miller served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives as a Democrat from Durham.

"He was attentive to his wife who had experienced some difficulty in coping," said fellow state Rep. Marjorie Smith, a Democrat from Durham, who is still serving in the Legislature.

Acting Shelburne Police Chief Aaron Noble said Tuesday that he believes Betty Miller was living alone in her apartment at Wake Robin.

A fellow resident, who did not know Miller, said she believes Miller concocted the story about poisoning others.

"We're all fine," Claire Anderson said.

By LISA RATHKE, Associated Press

Associated Press writers Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, Marina Villeneuve in Portland, Maine, and news researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York City contributed to this report.

Photo credit: Lisa Rathke/Associated Press