BANGOR, Maine — A South Windham man accused of sending cyanide to a person in England who used it to commit suicide is scheduled to plead guilty Monday in U.S. District Court to some but not all charges.
Sidney P. Kilmartin will plead guilty to mail and wire fraud charges but not to counts related to the death of Andrew Denton of Hull, England, according to a court document filed Thursday.
Defense attorney Martin Ridge of Portland and Assistant U.S. Attorney Halsey Frank declined Thursday to comment about which charges Kilmartin would plead guilty to.
According to information posted on the court’s electronic case filing system, however, a jury is still to be selected Monday for a trial. The jury most likely will hear evidence on the charges Kilmartin does not plead guilty to.
Kilmartin, 54, in January denied selling E psom salts that he advertised as cyanide to individuals he met on a website devoted to people who want to end their lives. Kilmartin was alleged to have sent Epsom salts to Andrew Denton of Hull, England, before sending cyanide to Denton so he could kill himself.
Denton, who had a history of suicide attempts, took his own life in December 2012. His death was ruled a suicide by cyanide poisoning, according to court documents. His body was found on Dec. 31, 2012, at his home by a relative.
Kilmartin allegedly swindled Denton and at least four others, none of whom lived in Maine, by selling them Epsom salts he advertised online as cyanide between April 2012 and May 2013. Because of that alleged activity, a federal grand jury last year indicted Kilmartin on seven counts of wire fraud and five counts of mail fraud. He received nearly $1,050 for the fake cyanide, the indictment alleged.
In connection with Denton’s death, Kilmartin also was indicted on one count each of mailing injurious articles resulting in death, witness tampering and witness retaliation because Denton complained to authorities that the fake cyanide did not work. After that, Kilmartin allegedly sent the Englishman the real poison.
Denton is not named in the document filed Thursday that outlines what Kilmartin is expected to admit to doing.
Kilmartin has been held without bail since his arrest on Nov. 5, 2014.
The defendant, who has a history of mental illness, was living in the community but legally was in the custody of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services when he allegedly executed the Epsom salts scheme, according to court documents. He was found not criminally responsible in 2009 for crimes he was accused of committing two years earlier, including an aggravated assault on an elderly man.
In October 2015, U.S. District Judge John Woodcock found Kilmartin competent to stand trial on the federal charges.
On the mail and wire fraud counts, Kilmartin faces up to 20 years in prison.
If convicted at trial of charges connected to Denton’s death, Kilmartin faces life in prison.