The mystery deepens in the case of an Ottawa man found dead in an upscale Denver hotel room -- a pound of highly toxic sodium cyanide in a jar beside him.

More than a week ago, Saleman Abdirahman Dirie, 29, told his Somalian family out of the blue that he was leaving to vacation in Denver.
On Monday, he was found in a fourth-floor room at the ritzy Burnsley Hotel about four blocks from the Colorado state Capitol. He had been dead for several days…

U.S. authorities -- including Denver Police, the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force -- were also trying to unravel the mystery.
Why Dirie had the substance in the first place is unclear and Denver Police are not calling the death a homicide, suicide or even suspicious.
They are conducting a death investigation but have found nothing to suggest foul play.

"It's an isolated incident," said Denver Police Det. John White. He said they are still waiting for the coroner's report to determine how to proceed but emphasized "it's still a very active investigation."
White said it's still too early to say whether Dirie's death was a suicide. The Denver medical examiner's office won't be able to determine whether cyanide killed Dirie until toxicology reports are done.

The FBI has been examining possible security issues, given that a foreign national was found dead with a hazardous substance, just two weeks before the start of the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

Another question is , why would this man clearly out of the blue pick Denver to visit? It seems he had no friends there. What is someone with apparently no knowledge of chemistry, no friends in Denver, get a hold of a pound of Cyanide?

The Denver coroner said Thursday a man found dead in a downtown hotel room with a pound of highly toxic sodium cyanide nearby died from cyanide poisoning.

However, the medical examiner's office could not say if 29-year-old Saleman Abdirahman Dirie, of Ottawa, Canada killed himself.

His body was found Monday inside Room 408 at The Burnsley Hotel, which is about four blocks from the state…

The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force is assisting in the investigation but FBI spokeswoman Kathy Wright said the incident has no apparent connection to terrorism.

"You have a suspicious substance that was found in a hotel room in conjunction with person being a foreign national, and we have a lot of questions and that is why we are assisting," Wright told the Post.

An online threat posted in July by a man with a similar name warned of death. The blog discussed the killing of Christians in Somalia by Islamists. The person who posted on the blog was a Muslim who appeared to condemn Christians.

"Having the bible in one hand, and a bread in the other hand, is not a correct thing! Kill Them , Kill them, Kill them, that is my massage (sic),!" read the posting by Abdirahman Dirie on the 'Solmali's for Jesus' Blog.
It was not clear if Abdirahman Dirie and Saleman Abdirahman Dirie are the same person.

Let’s play connect the dots: start with a Somali Muslim living in Canada. Then have him travel to the city that in just a few days will be hosting the Democratic National Convention. Then have him die in a hotel room. Finally, have police search the room and find a POUND of cyanide — enough poison to kill a couple hundred people, if distributed and delivered properly.

Some lone nut? I’m not so sure. I did some checking, and the Burnsley Hotel — where Saleman Abdirahman Dirie died is NOT a cheap hotel. I just checked online, and rooms start at $199 a night. Mr. Dirie was in that room, dead, for six days before his body was found, so there’s about $1200 sunk into just rent. Toss in transportation and acquiring the cyanide and other expenses, and this was obviously no impulsive, fly-by-night operation.

...Investigators still have not said how Dirie obtained the cyanide, how he came to the United States, and why the Ottawa man was staying at a luxury hotel in Denver…

He had no money. Whoever gave him the money for that hotel may have also given him the cyanide. We need to find that person," Jamal told the Denver Post...

The upscale Burnsley Hotel is about two miles away from the Pepsi Center, where the DNC will be held from Aug. 25-Aug. 27.

Originally posted by kosmicjack
reply to post by DenverMan

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Thanks. Here are the most pertinent points from your second link:

...Investigators still have not said how Dirie obtained the cyanide, how he came to the United States, and why the Ottawa man was staying at a luxury hotel in Denver…

He had no money. Whoever gave him the money for that hotel may have also given him the cyanide. We need to find that person," Jamal told the Denver Post...

The upscale Burnsley Hotel is about two miles away from the Pepsi Center, where the DNC will be held from Aug. 25-Aug. 27.

Most likely the hotel had CCTV. If he was with anyone, the tape would show it if it wasn't already re-cycled during the six day lag time.




[edit on 20/8/2008 by kosmicjack]