Woman in Texas Ricin Case Gives Birth in Custody

DALLAS (AP) � The Texas woman accused of sending ricin-laced letters to President Barack Obama and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has given birth prematurely to a baby boy while in custody. Attorneys for Shannon Guess Richardson, 35, and husband Nathan say she gave birth July 4 to a boy named Brody. Shannon Richardson’s attorney, Tonda Curry, says the baby faces serious medical issues due to the premature birth and remains hospitalized. John Delk, Nathan Richardson’s attorney, says the boy weighed less than 2 pounds at birth and was four months premature.

A federal affidavit alleges Shannon Richardson contacted authorities to try to implicate her husband in the ricin letters, before being arrested herself on June 7. She’s accused of sending the letters to Obama, Bloomberg and a man who heads Bloomberg’s gun-control organization.