Woman gets prison for having ricin
A Ponca City woman apologized Tuesday for making ricin but said her alleged plan to use the toxin to murder her exhusband in Israel was only an “elaborate fantasy.”
“I am guilty. I did make ricin, and I’m very, very sorry,” Danielle Dana Layman told an Oklahoma City federal judge during her sentencing. “I never intended to use that to murder my exhusband.”
Layman, 38, pleaded guilty in February to unregistered possession of ricin. The extremely hazardous toxin, derived from castor beans, has no known antidote.
U.S. District Judge Robin J. Cauthron sentenced Layman to 37 months in federal prison. The judge noted Layman made the ricin while pregnant and with her four other children in the house.
That “scares me,” the judge said.
Layman was arrested a year ago after FBI agents learned of an alleged “murder-for-hire plot.” During a search of her home, agents found several dozen castor beans in the kitchen, a mortar and pestle and instructions on how to make ricin.
At sentencing, Layman said she makes castor oil and uses it for cosmetic reasons. She said she “got curious” about making ricin so she found a recipe online. She threw away the ricin afterward, she said.
The sheet of paper with the recipe on it tested positive for ricin, prosecutors said.
At one point, Layman posted an ad on Craigslist for a 10-day acting job overseas, prosecutors alleged. A woman who responded to the ad contacted the FBI after meeting with Layman and finding out the gig actually was a paid “mission” to poison a taxi driver in Israel, the FBI reported.
The taxi driver was identified as Layman’s ex-husband, Shahar Abecassis. Layman offered $4,000 plus expenses for poisoning her exhusband, prosecutors alleged.
“I made up this elaborate fantasy,” Layman told the judge. “I made the whole thing up . ... I gave everybody a big scare.”
Defense attorney Michael Johnson said Layman’s plan wasn’t real, “just thoughts and ideas.” Layman never paid the woman who responded to the Craigslist ad. Layman also never booked any flights or hotel reservations for the alleged trip to Israel, the defense attorney told the judge.
“This was never going to happen. This couldn’t have happened. This was an impossible plan,” Johnson said.
Prosecutors alleged Layman gave vials of ricin to the woman, along with instructions on how to poison her ex-husband. Johnson, though, said the vials didn’t contain ricin.
The vials were never opened and were thrown away by the woman’s roommate. The judge said the prosecutors could not prove the vials contained ricin.
Layman, who was born in Israel, and her ex-husband have been in a dispute over visitation rights with their daughter. Prosecutors alleged the “custody battle” motivated Layman to want to kill her ex-husband.
As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors dismissed a “murder-forhire” offense. Prosecutors still asked the judge to view Layman’s actions as attempted murder.
The judge, though, said Layman didn’t do enough to call her actions attempted murder.