Roger Von Bergendorff Named As The Man In Coma From Ricin Las Vegas Case

The man in the middle of the Las Vegas ricin case has been identified as Roger Von Bergendorff. His cousin, Thomas Tholen of Riverton, Utah said that the man was "holding his own."

Ricin has no antidote. Roger Von Bergendorff had stayed at the Extended Stay America hotel in Las Vegas prior to his admission into the hospital. He is in a coma and has been since Feb. 14. Tests did not reveal ricin in the motel office, the room itself where Roger Von Bergendorff was staying nor a room at the Excalibur where Tholen stayed on Wednesday night. Dr. Lawrence Sands the chief health officer of the Southern Nevada Health District in Las Vegas has stated that the general public was not at risk to the ricin poisoning as far as they can tell.

"Right now, we don't have any indication anyone has been exposed to ricin in the community," Sands said, adding that health officials were still trying to confirm whether Von Bergendorff's respiratory ailment stemmed from ricin exposure.

There were three pets in the room when Tholen arrived in Las Vegas this past Wednesday. Two cats and a dog that was so ill it had to be put down by the Las Vegas Humane Society. After Tholen took the three vials that contained ricin to the office at the Extended Stay America hotel the police were called. The three police officers that took the call, two hotel employees and Tholen were taken to area hospitals after being decontaminated at the scene. None of the seven have shown signs of ricin poisoning. It is still unclear why Von Bergendorff was in possession of the three vials. The police also revealed on Friday that firearms, an "anarchist-type textbook" and castor beans were also in the 57 year old man's room. The book had been tabbed to a spot that contained information on ricin.