No matter their medium, tales have captivated humanity all through historical past. Our obsession with stunning twists, dramatic characters and plotlines, satisfying revelations, and classes realized proves their existential necessity to deal with the issues we have no idea or perceive. Netflix’s newest docuseries, The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga, dives into the weird, true story behind the 2013 presidential assassination try — highlighting the damaging results of changing actuality with extra attention-grabbing narratives.
The present particulars the soap-opera-esque lifetime of Paul Kevin Curtis, an Elvis impersonator consumed by body-part trafficking conspiracy theories. In three components, viewers get to see his unshakable pursuit of justice, main him on a path of private and political rivalries, jail time, and changing into a significant suspect for the notorious 2013 crime. With conflicting views from Curtis, his household, and his enemies, The Kings of Tupelo uncovers the surprising reality that ultimately clears his title.
Double Bother: A Story of Two Elvises
Kings of Tupelo
- Launch Date
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December 11, 2024
- Seasons
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1
Rising up in Tupelo, Mississippi, the birthplace of Elvis Presley, brings with it an innate adoration for the rock and roll legend amongst its residents. Paul Kevin Curtis, who was additionally born and raised within the small-town, was no exception. Introduced up with a mom consistently enjoying the king’s music and possessing a charismatic likeness to the singer, Curtis started his lifelong profession as an Elvis impersonator at an early age. He carried out for more and more giant crowds, gained competitions, and began a well-liked Elvis-duo tribute act together with his older brother, Jack, referred to as Double Bother. Off the stage, he shared three youngsters together with his spouse Laura and ran a profitable cleansing enterprise. All facets of his youthful years promised a enjoyable and fulfilling life.
Sadly, issues headed for the more serious after Curtis earned a major cleansing contract with the North Mississippi Medical Middle, the biggest rural hospital in the US. Throughout one among his shifts, he was tasked with cleansing out a hazardous space of the morgue. Whereas searching for one thing to drink, Curtis opened a freezer and found it was stuffed with physique components, together with the severed head of a affected person he’d seen within the ER a number of days prior. Shocked and confused, he started telling everybody what he’d seen, ultimately resulting in his termination.
The NMMC assures that the physique components had been saved by commonplace procedures for government-regulated organ donation. Nevertheless, Curtis as an alternative believes one thing shady was occurring, they usually solely fired him to maintain all of it quiet. After shedding his job, he spiraled down into an obsessive fixation on body-part trafficking conspiracies that led to erratic conduct and an onstage outburst, costing him his mates, household, and status.
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Lacking Items and Conspiracy Theories
All through the docuseries, Curtis is adamant about his uncanny potential to make connections that uncover the hidden truths behind folks in energy. Relating to his theories a couple of black marketplace for physique components, some attention-grabbing coincidences made his perception in it a handy, although far-reaching, conclusion.
Throughout his dark-web analysis into the matter, he developed quite a few web sites and a ebook referred to as Lacking Items to carry public consciousness to underground body-part harvesting and promoting. On the peak of his private losses in 2006, a information story broke out about Michael Mastromarino, who was arrested for main a human tissue trafficking ring in New York funeral houses. Since Mastromarino was on Curtis’ radar, to him the revelation confirmed his concepts about equivalent corruption in Mississippi. Falling right into a non-sequitur line of considering, he felt Mastromarino’s case was proof of NMMC’s involvement in comparable prison exercise.
Curtis then moved towards political activism to illegalize the shopping for and promoting of organs in his house state. He contacted Mississippi Home of Representatives Steve Holland to sponsor a invoice banning the follow. Nevertheless, Holland, who can be a funeral house director and champion of life-saving organ donation applications, took offense to Curtis’ conspiratorial insinuations and refused to assist him. Because of this, Curtis turned satisfied that Holland and his funeral house had been instantly concerned in body-part trafficking.
Within the following years, Curtis incessantly contacted Holland and Senator Roger Wicker to approve his invoice. By way of rising paranoia and desperation, he turned more and more remoted, believing he was the goal of individuals in energy. After an altercation with DA David Daniels, he was sentenced to 6 months in jail by none apart from Decide Sadie Holland — Steve Holland’s mom. Her involvement and the harassment from police following his launch additional cemented his delusions about corruption on an enormous scale. So, he did not cease spreading his message on-line, in-person, and thru letters to his state officers. Sadly, this supplied a paper path of motive in opposition to him when his political enemies acquired envelopes of ricin by the mail in 2013.
Framed: A Mississippi Rivalry Culminated with an Assassination Try on Barack Obama
On April 17, 2013, an envelope addressed to former President Barack Obama that examined constructive for the lethal poison ricin was intercepted. Inside was additionally a threatening letter that spoke of “lacking items” and was signed with the initials KC (which Curtis utilized in his on-line discourse). Since Senator Wickers and Decide Holland additionally acquired the identical correspondence, it did not take lengthy earlier than the FBI confirmed up at Curtis’ house to arrest him for the crime.
Nevertheless, throughout their interrogations, issues weren’t including up. When requested about ricin, Curtis claimed that he could not stand to eat rice. Clearly, he had no clue what the poison even was, not to mention make it. Plus, after looking out his house, there was no proof to recommend that he was behind the letters. Curtis was additionally a lifelong Democrat who beloved Obama, and the path resulting in him appeared too handy. Officers then questioned him about any enemies he might have. One title instantly got here to thoughts: Everett Dutschke.
Main as much as the postal poisoning, Curtis had developed a rivalry with Dutschke, a martial arts teacher, self-proclaimed Mensa member, and a Wayne Newton impersonator residing in Tupelo. Initially, the 2 hit it off, however issues turned bitter when Dutschke refused to publish Curtis’ body-part conspiracy story. The 2 principally saved their feud on-line. Curtis would consistently troll Dutschke, photoshopping himself in his footage, posting “skilled” karate movies, and placing up a pretend Mensa membership certificates to get below his pores and skin. In retaliation, he got here up with a preposterous plan to border Curtis and damage his life perpetually.
When investigators turned to Dutschke as a suspect, the items began becoming collectively. There was ricin residue present in his trash and residential, castor beans purchased in bulk, and a espresso grinder used to make the poison. After accumulating sufficient proof, regulation enforcement freed Curtis and arrested his arch enemy. In 2013, he was indicted by a grand jury and sentenced to 25 years in jail.
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An Ending With out an Finish?
The Kings of Tupelo teases audiences with a superbly full denouement. Curtis performs as Elvis together with his brother once more, and asserts that he is redirecting his life’s objective towards his household as an alternative of conspiracy theories. However the filmmakers slot in one final twist. Curtis now believes that Everett was additionally framed, and Dutschke contends that he’s a former CIA operative who’s been focused after discovering damning data on the Obama administration. Though the claims from each characters are solely that, claims. There isn’t a actual proof suggesting the reality behind any of it.
The collection wraps up by displaying the 2 rivals as they’re right now. Curtis is spouting off extra obsessive and meritless tales about Everett. Everett, then again, continues to spin his story into one the place he’s harmless. Each males are telling tales by which they’re both the hero or the sufferer, hooked on their comforting delusions and nonetheless unable to query their very own beliefs (a minimum of publicly). To them, the actual villains stay at giant, telling the world to not consider in secret corruption with two fingers crossed behind their backs. When the present ends, audiences can not help however see the reality: Curtis and Everett simply wish to really feel essential, distinctive, like everybody does. Chasing that need acquired them caught up in telling a grand story, one by which they refuse to go away listeners with “The Finish.”
The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga is now streaming on Netflix.