Missouri man heartbroken over breakup tried to buy chemical weapon on dark web, feds say
A Missouri man accused of trying to buy a chemical weapon capable of killing hundreds is going to prison, authorities say.
Jason Siesser, a 46-year-old Columbia man, pleaded guilty last year to attempting to acquire a chemical weapon and aggravated identity theft. He was sentenced Tuesday to 12 years in prison.
In July 2018, undercover officers watched as Siesser paid Bitcoin to a seller on the dark web for a chemical weapon, according to court documents. Though the exact chemical weapon is not disclosed by authorities, it’s described as a “highly toxic liquid” that “may produce life-threatening systemic effects with only a single drop.”
Siesser ordered an amount that could’ve killed hundreds of people using a child’s name, authorities say.
“I plan to use it soon after I receive it,” Siesser told the seller, according to court documents. “I don’t really have any concerns. If you have any tips or care to offer advice feel free.”
When the package arrived at his Columbia home, authorities watched Siesser sign for the delivery and open his front door to ventilate the residence, according to court documents. Then they executed a search warrant.
Inside, they found the package that “contained an inert substance” next to packages with cadmium arsenide, which is a toxic compound, cadmium metal and hydrochloric acid, authorities say.
They also found rhyming poems about a breakup and a “desire for the person who caused the heartache to die,” authorities say.
In an interview, Siesser said he divorced his wife the year before and a woman with whom he went on three dates had broken up with him, which left him depressed, authorities say.
“Siesser wrote fictional stories about men exacting vengeance on ex-girlfriends,” court documents say. “In one story, a man used a fertilizer spreader to lace a woman’s yard with asbestos, which ultimately killed her decades later. In another story, a man locked a woman in scuba gear in a submerged box so she would die when her oxygen tank was depleted.”
Siesser said he ordered the chemical for experiments related to “bio-hacking,” which is a “form of gene editing through protein manipulation.”
However, his home contained no other lab equipment and Siesser was not trained or educated in chemistry, authorities say.
He was employed by a group home for children under contract with the state of Missouri at the time of the investigation, authorities say.
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