Texas woman indicted in Obama ricin case

A woman in the U.S. state of Texas was indicted Friday on charges that she sent ricin-laced letters to President Barack Obama in an attempt to frame her husband, U.S. media reported. The woman, by the name of Shannon Guess Richardson, 35, was charged by the federal government with two counts of mailing a threatening communication to the president and one count of making a threat against the president of the United States, the website of Houston Chronicle reported. Richardson is alleged to have sent ricin-tainted letters not only to the White House but also to New York city mayor Michael Bloomberg and the mayor's Washington gun-control group, the report said. The content of the letters is believed to be threat of violence against gun-control advocates, authorities said. Richardson, who was arrested June 7 initially told FBI it was her husband who mailed those letters, but later she said he "made her" do it. The couple is believed to be going through a divorce and the wife, already a mother of five, is now pregnant, the report said. Richardson, an actress by profession, appears in movies and on TV under the name Shannon Guess. Her resume on the Internet movie database IMDb said she has had small television roles in "The Vampire Diaries" and "The Walking Dead." She had a minor role in the movie "The Blind Side" and appeared in an Avis commercial, according to the resume. If convicted, Richardson faces up to five years in prison on each charge, authorities said. Richardson's attorney, Tonda Curry, said her client will plead not guilty.