LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Two college students were arrested for an anthrax hoax that halted postal service in the town of Murray after white powder spilled from an envelope.
Preliminary tests indicated the substance was powdered sugar, Murray Postmaster Mark Kennedy said Wednesday.
The post office in the southwestern Kentucky community was closed Tuesday after the powder spilled onto a postal clerk's shirt.
Amy Wood, 20, of Benton, Ky., and Erin Creighton, 21, of Morganfield, Ky., both students at Murray State University, were arrested Tuesday. They allegedly intended to send the letter to friends as a hoax, Murray police Capt. Eddie Rollins said.
``I don't think they understood the seriousness of their hoax initially, but I think they were coming to understand the seriousness of it when they were taken into custody,'' Rollins said. Both were charged with a single count of mailing a threatening communication, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison, said U.S. Attorney Stephen Pence.
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