Kriti Mehrotra
With Netflix’s Chapman Way and Maclain Way directorial ‘The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga’ chronicling the tale of Paul Kevin Curtis, we get a documentary series unlike any other. After all, it delves deep into the way this Elvis impersonator, janitor, as well as conspiracy theorist’s feuds possibly spiraled into an attempted assassination by ricin of three political figures. However, the man behind these letter-driven attacks was not Kevin despite all initial evidence pointing toward him; it was his alleged rival, once family-driven politician James Everett Dutschke.
James Everett Dutschke Has a Mysterious Past
It was reportedly back when James was a young kid that he realized he was different from his peers since he preferred to be around adults and engage in conversations rather than just have fun. According to his accounts, it later came to light he was actually gifted, resulting in him being further differentiated until his solace in music and karate/taekwondo came to light. He credits his interest in STEM and the discipline he learned through his favored extracurriculars with his eventual membership into the Mensa International High-IQ Society.
As per James, he eventually immersed himself in the world of martial arts to such an extent he was even a part of the US National Team for the 1996 Olympics, from where he was allegedly “recruited.” He alleged he was handpicked to serve the nation in such a way that he had to disappear from the face of the world until a mission’s failure forced him to resurface in 2004. This former purported covert officer seemingly had no choice but to start over owing to how terribly his “mission” had gone wrong, so he decided to build a new, ordinary, quiet life in Tupelo, Mississippi.
Not long after James landed in the Magnolia State, he realized the best option for him would be to return to his roots, driving him to establish his very own mixed martial arts academy. Then, with him also finding love in a local woman named Janet, he began to not feel like as much of an outsider, only to be proven wrong when he later tried to evolve into a conservative congressman. This instructor had many professions, but he once genuinely believed he had a political calling because he is allegedly a direct descendant of one of America’s Founding Fathers, William Blount.
James Everett Dutschke Was a Man of Many Hats
While James’ training hall for the combat sport of martial arts was quite successful, he soon decided to also launch a career as an insurance agent so as to better provide for his new family. He wanted to ensure they had the best possible opportunities at every step of the way in life, driving him to work hard, attain the necessary credentials, and land a job at Jack Curtis’ Insurance Agency. Little did anybody know at the time that this newcomer would not only thrive in the industry but gradually begin utilizing his newfound external connections to pave his way into politics, too.
According to James’ accounts, when he ultimately ran for the House, he had a lot of support from the Republican Party, with the higher-ups going as far as to state he had the golden ticket to success. However, nothing panned out in the way he had envisioned since he was going up against long-serving Democratic Representative Steve Holland and had decided to come after his character publicly. Voters didn’t appreciate his tactics, so despite his success as a martial arts instructor, insurance agent, and guitarist/member of RoboDrum, he lost by a landslide – the votes were 85-15 against him.
James Everett Dutschke’s Crimes Go Beyond Attempted Assassinations
It was in the early 2010s when James’ entire world turned upside down as he found himself without a purpose — his marriage had failed, he had no stable work, and he had a rival in Paul Kevin Curtis. As per records, there was a full-blown feud between the duo owing to not just the instructor’s alleged close bond with the conspiracy theorist’s ex-wife but also his refusal to publish the latter’s report on the alleged extensive black market of body harvesting in his newspaper. It then reportedly spiraled into them essentially being obsessed with one another – from spamming each other’s connections online to copying mannerisms, the rivals purportedly did it all.
In the end, things only began fizzling out between them in 2012 when James was arrested on the charge of indecent exposure for repeatedly flashing himself to young girls in his neighborhood. He was convicted and sentenced to 90 days in prison for this, only for him to then also be accused of molesting three girls under the age of 16, resulting in his training studio shutting down for good. Then, the FBI came knocking on his door in late April 2013 on suspicion that he had sent ricin-filled letters to Federal Court Judge Sadie Holland (Steve Holland’s Mother), Mississippi Republican Senator Roger Wicker, and then-President Barack Obama earlier in the month.
The letters were initially traced to conspiracy theorist Kevin, but agents soon knew he was not responsible as he had no idea what ricin was, nor did he have the skills or knowledge to produce it. The truth is the envelopes in which these letters were mailed were all without return addresses, but forensic analysis showed traces of his old addresses on top as if they had been written and removed. That’s when he was asked if he had any enemies, just for him and all his loved ones to name James, whose suspicious behavior in the days to follow didn’t help his overall situation either.
James Everett Dutschke is Currently Behind Bars
While the ricin-filled letter envelopes were local to Tupelo, they pointed right to Kevin owing to not just the location traces but also the fact the notes within had significant direct clues. They read, in part, “No one wanted to listen to me before. There are still ‘Missing Pieces.’ Maybe I have your attention now, even if that means someone must die… I am KC, and I approve this message.” This latter part was Kevin’s catchphrase, which he had allegedly taken from James, and ‘Missing Pieces’ was the title of the book he was writing, which indicated to investigators that he was being framed.
Therefore, with traces of ricin being found in James’ home and him seemingly using a coffee grinder for suspicious activities, he was arrested on April 27, 2013, before being formally indicted on June 3. He ultimately did plead guilty to one count of developing and possessing ricin as well as three counts of mailing threatening letters on January 17, 2014, for which he was handed out 25 years in federal prison plus 5 years supervised release. Therefore, today, at the age of 53, the former Wayne Newton impersonator and martial arts instructor is incarcerated at the high-security United States Penitentiary – Tucson, where he will remain until his scheduled release date of August 15, 2034.
Read More: Laura Curtis: Where is Paul Kevin Curtis’ Former Wife Now?
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