A South Side man who mailed letters threatening to kill schoolchildren unwittingly revealed his identity when he licked the envelope flaps to seal them, authorities said Monday.
DNA taken from saliva on three envelopes matched the DNA of Milo L. Farris, a registered sex offender whose genetic profile was in a State Police database, officials said.
The threatening letters were mailed in September to at least seven schools in the Roseland and West Pullman neighborhoods on the Far South Side, police said.
There was no evidence that Farris attempted to follow through with his threats, the FBI said.
They appeared to be motivated by a "misguided desire to have increased patrols in certain Chicago neighborhoods," the bureau said in a statement. One of the letters griped about gang members and drug dealing between Halsted and Michigan from 103rd to 127th, saying they operate in the open without fear of arrest.
The Sun-Times received one of the letters in September.
"I sent several threats to other schools in this area," the letter said. "But only one child from one of these schools will die!"
The author claimed he was 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, that he had killed a prostitute and a young man, and was "possessed by a demon." By contrast, prison records listed Farris as being 345 pounds and 6 feet tall.
The Sun-Times did not report on the letters at the time, deciding not to amplify the threats.
But the Chicago Public Schools sent letters to parents saying police had learned of an anonymous threat directed toward their schools.
The letter said police suspected the threats were a hoax, but that extra patrols were assigned to the schools just in case.
Farris, 32, was charged Friday in federal court with using the mail to deliver a threatening communication, a felony.
He's been in trouble with the law before.
In October 2000, he was paroled after serving about five months in prison for aggravated battery to Blue Island police officers and disarming one officer while he was under arrest at the police station for an alleged sexual assault.
And in 1992, Farris was sentenced to two consecutive six-year prison terms for armed robbery and aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
Full Story from the Sun Times
DNA taken from saliva on three envelopes matched the DNA of Milo L. Farris, a registered sex offender whose genetic profile was in a State Police database, officials said.
The threatening letters were mailed in September to at least seven schools in the Roseland and West Pullman neighborhoods on the Far South Side, police said.
There was no evidence that Farris attempted to follow through with his threats, the FBI said.
They appeared to be motivated by a "misguided desire to have increased patrols in certain Chicago neighborhoods," the bureau said in a statement. One of the letters griped about gang members and drug dealing between Halsted and Michigan from 103rd to 127th, saying they operate in the open without fear of arrest.
The Sun-Times received one of the letters in September.
"I sent several threats to other schools in this area," the letter said. "But only one child from one of these schools will die!"
The author claimed he was 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, that he had killed a prostitute and a young man, and was "possessed by a demon." By contrast, prison records listed Farris as being 345 pounds and 6 feet tall.
The Sun-Times did not report on the letters at the time, deciding not to amplify the threats.
But the Chicago Public Schools sent letters to parents saying police had learned of an anonymous threat directed toward their schools.
The letter said police suspected the threats were a hoax, but that extra patrols were assigned to the schools just in case.
Farris, 32, was charged Friday in federal court with using the mail to deliver a threatening communication, a felony.
He's been in trouble with the law before.
In October 2000, he was paroled after serving about five months in prison for aggravated battery to Blue Island police officers and disarming one officer while he was under arrest at the police station for an alleged sexual assault.
And in 1992, Farris was sentenced to two consecutive six-year prison terms for armed robbery and aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
Full Story from the Sun Times
