SOUTH WINDHAM – A federal court judge in Bangor denied bail Monday to Sidney Kilmartin, 52, the South Windham resident indicted in early November on charges of mailing potassium cyanide to a suicidal man in Hull, England.

On Nov. 4, a U.S. District Court grand jury indicted Kilmartin on one count of mailing injurious articles, and another count of mailing injurious articles resulting in death. The first count could lead to 20 years imprisonment, while the second could lead to imprisonment for life. According to the indictment, the incidents that led to the charges occurred on Nov. 16, 2012, and Dec. 11, 2012.

According to the indictment, Kilmartin sent the cyanide “with the intent to kill or injure” Andrew Denton, 49, a Hull man who was found dead on Dec. 31, 2012, according to media reports. Denton’s blood contained high levels of cyanide, according to the reports.

Kilmartin, who has pleaded not guilty, was detained without bail on Nov. 6. His case is set to go to trial April 7. On Monday, U.S. Magistrate Judge John Nivison ordered that Kilmartin remain detained pending trial.

Halsey Frank, the U.S. Assistant Attorney prosecuting Kilmartin, applauded the court’s decision.

“I think it’s appropriate,” Frank said. “I think the guy is a danger, and I think he should not be at liberty.”

James Billings, Kilmartin’s attorney, declined to comment on Monday’s bail ruling.

In a federal court filing, Billings wrote that Kilmartin was committed to the Riverview Psychiatric Center in Augusta after being found not guilty by reason of insanity in 2009 “in a Maine state court criminal matter.” In an interview, Billings declined to comment on Kilmartin’s criminal record. According to Frank, the incident stemmed from an aggravated assault charge.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, potassium cyanide is a “white, granular or crystalline solid” that releases a highly toxic chemical asphyxiant, hydrogen cyanide gas. The gas has a “distinctive bitter almond odor,” according to the disease control agency.

“Exposure to potassium cyanide can be rapidly fatal,” the agency’s description reads.

Sidney Kilmartin