American 'sent cyanide to Brit to kill himself so he wouldn't blow whistle on transatlantic suicide scam'

Sidney Kilmartin was arrested last year and charged over the death of Andrew Denton from Hull, East Yorkshire

Accused: Sidney Kilmartin is facing serious charges relating to the death of a British man

An American desperate to stop a Brit from blowing the whistle over a transatlantic suicide scam sent him cyanide to ensure he took his own life, prosecutors have claimed.

Sidney Kilmartin was arrested last year and charged over the death of Andrew Denton from Hull, East Yorkshire.

The 49-year-old was found in his home on New Year’s eve 2012 by his niece after taking the poison he had bought online while suffering depression.

Investigators allege the 53-year-old American had initially sold Mr Denton Epsom salts that had been advertised as cyanide on a website devoted to people wanting to end their lives.

He is accused of selling another man, also from Hull, another batch of Epsom salts again which he said was cyanide.

On the website Kilmartin advertised the chemicals as “a painless and quick way to commit suicide ” and offered to sell “industrial grade” potassium cyanide for £164 per gram, according to court documents.

Kilmartin has now been hit with further charges including mailing injurious articles resulting in death, witness tampering and witness retaliation.

Arrest: Kilmartin has been in custody for more than a year and faces a series of charges

According to court papers in Maine Mr Denton was sent cyanide in order to prevent him from talking to US police about Kilmartin’s scam.

In addition, a new indictment accuses him of swindling Denton and four others by selling them salts he advertised online as cyanide between April 2012 and May 2013.

It is not known what happened to the other people he sent chemicals too.

A grand jury also charged Kilmartin, of Windham, Maine, with seven counts of wire fraud and five counts of mail fraud.

He pocketed $1,050 (£692) for the fake cyanide, the court paper claims.

Kilmartin is scheduled to be arraigned on December 18 at the federal courthouse in Bangor.

He has been held without bail since his arrest on November 5, 2014, when he pleaded not guilty to the earlier charges.

If convicted, he faces life in prison on the counts related to Denton’s death and up to 20 years in prison on other counts.