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Man charged with sending tainted Christmas cards By Nick Morgan of the Mail Tribune Apr 10, 2020 05:50 PM A A A Klamath Falls man is accused of mailing threatening Christmas cards and valentines to former co-workers that contained a powdered pesticide and hoax messages indicating the victims had been exposed to anthrax. Kelly Michael Burns, 70, is in the Jackson County Jail on federal charges accusing him of mailing threats and false information to his former workplace in Klamath Falls. Burns is accused of sending powdery store-bought pesticide inside greeting cards addressed to four former co-workers over two holidays, according to documents filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in U.S. District Court in Medford. The cards had return addresses such as “Secret Santa,” and messages starting with “Merry Anthrax,” as well as threats that included “More to come,” “We will do more” and “We know where you live.” The first wave of poisoned cards with a Medford postmark arrived at the Klamath Falls workplace Dec. 19, according to a court document filed by the FBI, and prompted a fire department hazardous materials team to decontaminate a company owner and several employees, including an office worker who was pregnant at the time. The pregnant office employee, who was not one of the four named targets, took a Class C antibiotic at the hospital under the belief she had been exposed to anthrax. Other employees underwent a more than four-hour decontamination process at the company parking lot, and again at the hospital, and were prescribed high-strength antibiotics while they awaited Oregon Health Authority test results on the powdery substance. The test results came back negative for ricin and biological threats such as anthrax. An FBI lab later determined the powder to be an insecticide that’s a known carcinogen. On Feb. 13, a second wave of cards arrived at the business to the same individuals. The cards had a Medford postmark and no return address except for “Happy [heart symbol],” according to the FBI. A crime lab opened the Valentine’s Day cards and found the same powder inside and messages that included “Happy Anthrax,” misogynistic slurs and threatening messages such as “maybe we get your family [too].” Documents filed by the FBI and federal prosecutors in the case do not name the Klamath Falls workplace or any of the victims, but the documents say the cards were addressed to four individuals at a company where Burns worked until April 2019 as a welder. The targets included a company owner, a production manager, a welding supervisor and a former welding supervisor who is still with the company in a different position. The targets helped the FBI narrow down their suspect to someone who had left the company in the spring of 2019 because the threats targeted a “chain of command that no longer exists,” according to the FBI. Handwriting specialists at the FBI allegedly matched the writing on the threats to Burns’ handwriting on his employment application and tax documents filed with the company. In March, an FBI search at Burns’ home yielded several angry notes addressing the company that contained misogynistic and racial slurs, along with a list that included the phrases “puncture all car tires in the driveway,” “cocktail roof” and “shoot up house (drive-by).” The FBI also said it found half a dozen books in Burns’ home and car about booby traps, improvised explosives and poison. Titles included “The Joy of Cold Revenge” and “Assorted Nasties.” Burns has been lodged in the Jackson County Jail since March 6, but will be released next week to be admitted to the VA Southern Oregon Rehabilitation Center & Clinics in White City for a “moderate intensity” residential treatment program addressing alcohol use disorder, depression and anxiety. U.S. District Judge Mark Clarke allowed Burns to be released at a Thursday hearing, court records show. Prior to the hearing, victims wrote the judge letters expressing fear for their lives, and asking him to keep Burns in jail. “It’s like having a constant stomach ache wondering what this man is thinking,” one victim wrote. Burns’ public defender Brian Butler stated earlier this week that the VA SORCC is drastically limiting new admissions because of COVID-19, so his client may not have another opportunity until after the pandemic. As a further safeguard, Butler stated that Burns’ family removed all firearms from his client’s Klamath Falls home. Reach reporter Nick Morgan at 541-776-4471 or [email protected] . Follow him on Twitter @MTCrimeBeat . Kelly Michael Burns, 70, of is charged with sending former coworkers in Klamath Falls threatening Christmas cards with powdered pesticide and hoax messages such as "Merry Anthrax." Jackson County Jail booking photo. The FBI said it found half a dozen books in Burns’ home and car about booby traps, improvised explosives and poison. Titles included “The Joy of Cold Revenge” and “Assorted Nasties.”