Not Your Usual Bioweapon of Choice

In December 2019 reports emerged that a Utah woman had been arrested for possesion of a biological weapon. Janie Lynn Ridd, 50, was arrested whilst the case was being investigated by both federal and state authorities. 

According to the affidavit at the time “Through an investigation, officers learned a subject later identified as Janie Lynn Ridd purchased a weapon of mass destruction ... a biological agent online. Subsequent investigation found Ridd’s statements to be misleading and it was learned Ridd did not provide evidence to show she has lawful authority or use to possess a biological agent.”

Facing charges of aggravated abuse of a vulnerable adult, a second-degree felony, attempted abuse of a vulnerable adult, a third-degree felony, and attempted possession of a biological agent, a second-degree felony, Ridd plead guilty and has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Now that the trial has taken place more information has come to light about the agent she tried to purchase, and intented to use on her roommate. 

Autorities say that Ridd turned to the dark web in an attempt to procure Vancomycin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (VRSA). VRSA can cause illness from skin infections to severe invasive diseases which can result in pneumonia and/or septicemia or even death. Ridd clamied to be a biology teacher at a college preparatory school in Utah and said she needed the VRSA for a science experiment on antibiotic resistance.

Court documents state that "When the vendor advised the defendant that VRSA may be obtained for scientific research through more legitimate sources, the defendant continued to pursue the purchase from the vendor, offering to pay overnight shipping to obtain the VRSA faster."  On Dec. 17, 2019, agents delivered a package with faux VRSA to Ridd at her mailbox. When she was later apprehended she claimed to have purchased coffee from an online supply company for $300. Later she admitted to lying about the coffee and stated that the package contained a "biological which she had ordered online form the dark web to make beer at home in the basement," court documents state. She then again changed her story saying she'd ordered some form of "staph" for "experimental purposes to satisfy a personal curiosity she had stemming from her roommate’s recent exposure to MRSA," a similar biological agent.

Ridd's roommate, who was the intended target of the VRSA, had been having a tumultuous time in the home for some time, but Ridd appeared to care for the victim, ensuring she took her medication for her various ailments. The first the victim knew there was a real issue was when FBI agents arrived at her home. It is belived by investigators that Ridd would knock her roomate out with sedatives so she could inject harmful things into her system, such as Xanax and Ketamine.  While asleep Ridd would then inject her roommate with harmful doses of insulin or even E. coli. 

The rooommate has said she has been in a much better physical condition since Ridd was arrested. Not a surprise really.