Is 'The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga' based on a true story? Details revealed

Netflix's true crime miniseries, The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga, was released on December 11, 2024. Directed by the Emmy Award winning director duo of Chapman Way and Maclain Way, the series consists of three episodes, each an hour long. The synopsis of the show reads:

"A refrigerated head sparks one man's obsession with a conspiracy that leads to the White House in this stranger than fiction docuseries."

The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga is based on the true events often referred to as 'the April 2013 ricin letters.' The letters were sent to US Senator Roger Wicker, late Mississippi judge Sadie Holland, and the then US President Barack Obama. The plot of the series gives an account of Kevin Paul Curtis, an Elvis impersonator and a former janitor at a hospital who was arrested from his home in Tupelo, Mississippi.

His crime: Sending letters that were laced with ricin to the government officials including the erstwhile President Obama. His motive: Wanting to assassinate them. Ricin is a naturally-occurring protein that is more poisonous than cyanide.

Was Kevin Paul Curtis found guilty? Or was he framed by an enemy? This is the story of a small town feud that threatened to almost scale the gates of the White House. To know all the answers, especially what happened to Kevin Curtis, watch The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga that dropped on December 11, 2024, on Netflix.

Here is what we know about the true incident that inspired The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga.

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Meet Kevin Paul Curtis of The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga

Kevin Paul Curtis was an Elvis impersonator from Tupelo, Mississippi, and he led an uneventful and ordinary life. He earned a living by performing at various events, and in 1999, Curtis managed to get a job as a janitor in a rural hospital in Mississippi.

At the hospital, he discovered an organ trafficking racket, and alerted the authorities. However, as a result he lost his job. Curtis then decided to get to the bottom of the illegal dealings, and he set about gathering evidence against the hospital. After failing to elicit any positive response from government delegates and judges, he contacted a local politician named James Everett Dutschke, in a bid to publish his report on the ongoing organ trade. However Dutschke, too, refused, which led to an animosity between him and Curtis. It was a feud that would change Curtis' life forever.

Curtis' life was turned upside down in 2013 when he was arrested by federal investigators for trying to assassinate the then U.S President Barack Obama. He was arrested for allegedly sending provocative letters to Barack Obama as well as the other government officials, in envelopes and on paper laced with the lethal poison, ricin.

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The April 2013 ricin letters case of The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga

On a spring day of 2013, a letter addressed from Memphis, Tennessee, coated with the highly toxic protein, ricin, was received at the mail facility in the U.S Capitol. The letter was addressed to Republican Senator from Mississippi, Roger Wicker. A second letter was sent to the state representative Steve Holland's mother, Sadie Holland, who was a Mississippi judge.

Finally, on April 17, 2013, another ricin-coated letter was delivered, this one addressed to the then U.S President Barack Obama.

All the three letters contained the same text:

"No one wanted to listen to me before. There are still Missing Pieces. May I have your attention now even if that means someone must die. This must stop. To see a wrong and not expose it."

The letter ended with what seemed like the initials of the sender:

"I am KC and I approve this message"

All the evidence, including the initials, pointed at Kevin Curtis, the Mississippi resident who was also a blogger, and who published conspiracy theories online. His posts mentioned:

"I am Kevin Curtis and I approve this message."

Among evidences forwarded against Curtis was also the fact that he had asked for help from State Representative Steve Holland, wanting him to sponsor a bill that would put an end to organ trafficking. After failing to get any positive response from Holland, he contacted Senator Roger Wicker, who admired his work but was unable to sponsor it. This allegedly angered Curtis, who went ahead with his conspiracy theories, posting rants. Curtis also got in a physical altercation with the assistant to District Attorney named David Daniels in 2003 when he was charged with assault and sentenced to six months in prison by judge Sadie Collins.

With the motives and evidence pointed at Kevin Curtis, the federal agents arrested him on April 17, 2013. However, after around six days, Kevin Curtis was released from prison due to a lack of evidence.

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The hunt for the real culprit, James Everett Dutschke — The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga

After Curtis was released, the needle of suspicion pointed at James Everett Dutschke, a martial arts instructor from Tupelo. The rivalry between Kevin Curtis and Everett Dutschke was quite known. After Dutschke refused to publish Kevin Curtis' reports on organ trafficking, the latter had seemingly gone on revenge mode. He photoshopped images of Dutschke on the internet and even created fake profiles. Dutschke on his part is said to have burned down Kevin's house. Allegedly, he had an affair with Curtis' ex-wife.

When the federal agents reached James Everett Dutschke's home in April 2013, they found numerous pieces of evidence from his computer that indicated Dutschke had sourced ricin. He was finally arrested on April 27, 2013.

James Everett Dutschke was finally sentenced to 25 years in prison by judge Sharion Aycock in 2014.

Read More: 5 shocking details from Netflix's The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga that will blow your mind

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