With all its devotion to spirituality, art, and soul, the existing culture, traditions, and socio-political condition of the southern part of the United States have accorded it a distinct identity—one which is marred by its troubling history regarding racial prejudices and a desperate attempt to hold on to the bygone era. The latter trait has somewhat contributed to the Southerners’ penchant for tall tales, conspiracy theories, and drama—all of which are abundant in Netflix’s latest docu-series, The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga, which revolves around one of the most outlandish political conspiracies in the history of the United States and has its firm roots in the crazy shenanigans of the southern part of the country. The real-life account of the entire scenario, which involves a family feud between a pair of Elvis impersonator brothers, a rivalry stemming from a fraudulent Mensa certificate, a conspiracy regarding organ trafficking, and an assassination attempt on the president, is so bizarre that, as one of the reporters featuring in the documentary aptly pointed out, it seems to be inspired by a Coen Brothers movie. The fact that it isn’t, quite obviously draws our focus to the persons who found their lives turned upside down following a series of events that took place in the small Southern town of Tupelo, Mississippi.
Kevin Paul Curtis’ Past and a Horrid Discovery
Paul Kevin Curtis, a renowned Elvis impersonator, found himself at the center of the attention of the series of events that took place between 1999 and 2013 in his hometown of Tupelo, Mississippi—in a sense, Kevin became the ‘star of the show,’ mostly for a number of wrong reasons. As the birthplace of Elvis ‘The King’ Presley, Tupelo still remains quite obsessed with the legendary artist, as evident from the statues erected in memory of Elvis and local businesses proudly cherishing the memories ‘The King’ shared in their establishments—making profits out of selling Elvis nostalgia. It makes sense that Elvis impersonation gigs used to be a big thing in Tupelo; they probably still are. Elois Curtis, Kevin’s mother, who used to be a devout fan of the legend, had raised her sons—Jack and Kevin—on ‘Jesus, Elvis, and cornbread’—in that particular order. While Jack, the popular and high achiever among the Curtis brother duo, went on to build a successful insurance company later on, Kevin, mummy’s boy, found a sense of confidence in trying to emulate the legendary artist and entertain people. Kevin used to be picked on during his younger years—labelled as the scrawny, nerdy kid by bullies—but his woes took a backseat when he received theappreciation of people all around whenever he performed as Elvis wearing the iconic jumpsuit. This contributed to a sense of hero complex/delusions of grandeur, which affected Kevin later in his life.
Jack decided to take a page out of his brother’s book and perform as an Elvis tribute artist as well, and in no time, the brother duo formed the performance group “Double Trouble,” which became immensely popular not only in Mississippi but all over the country and found recognition abroad as well. Unlike Jack, Kevin found it hard to find a solid footing in his career, which prompted Jack to provide him with self-help motivational video cassettes of Tony Robbins, and whatever worldly advice Kevin inculcated from those resulted in him pitching the idea of a duo Elvis performance to his brother. It was through a search for a singer for “Double Trouble” that Kevin came across Laura, his future wife. Kevin and Laura became parents soon enough, and to pay the bills, Kevin took up a job as a cleaner/janitor. Kevin was quite diligent in his new job and got his biggest contract with North Mississippi Medical Centre.
On December 17th, 1999, Kevin made a shocking discovery during his night shift as he had discovered body parts, along with the severed head of an emergency patient who had been admitted in the morgue refrigerator—a revelation that petrified him to the core. Ignoring Laura’s advice, Kevin decided to share the details of his discovery with everybody, and the medical center authority promptly terminated the contract with the excuse of Kevin trespassing in areas he shouldn’t have ventured to. Kevin got fired from his job simply because he had shared something that troubled him, and the worst part was there was no explanation provided of what his crime was.
Why Did Kevin Become Obsessed With Conspiracies?
The horrid discovery and getting laid off from his job rattled Kevin mentally, and he was prepared to see it to the end. Kevin decided to scour the internet, and on the dark web, he became familiar with the world of organ trafficking on the black market. Going through several discussions on online message boards, Kevin had become convinced that he had stumbled across a heinous organ trafficking incident like that in the medical center and tried to draw public attention to his version of ‘truth.’ The medical center had issued a notice that indicated that Kevin might have confused organs prepped for donation and transplantation procedures with something much more nefarious, but the fact that Kevin received the worst simply for the discovery of something too trivial, and the discrepancies by the authorities cast a shadow of doubt in Kevin’s mind regarding the entire ordeal.
Kevin’s background and his social position contributed to no one taking his claims seriously, not even his family and peers. The more Kevin tried to draw attention to what he thought was the worst scandal in the state of Mississippi, the more he found himself absorbed into the investigation and, as a result, alienatedfrom his family. While his family considered his wild conspiracy theories to be an example of an empty mind being the devil’s workshop, Kevin thought of himself as a man on a mission to attain justice. You see, in his years impersonating Elvis, Kevin had grown a hero complex, which made it impossible for him to look away from something he considered to be immoral and unethical, even though the base of his suspicion wasn’t really that solid. Kevin suspected the entire system—cops, hospital authorities, funeral homes, and politicians—was involved deeply in this conspiracy and were trying to shut him down for speaking out. In fact, local police were communicated with by the medical center and kept a close watch on Kevin for a certain time. Kevin even tried to use “Double Trouble” to share awareness about the ongoing conspiracy, and this resulted in Jack, who was supportive towards his brother for quite a long time, becoming truly disappointed with Kevin. The fact that Kevin had engaged in a scuffle with David Daniel, assistant DA of North Mississippi, whom he had initially suspected of being in an affair with his wife, and colored the scenario as an authoritarian attempt to shut him up—tells much about what a troubling mental situation he was in at that point in his life.
From one of Kevin’s online communities, Karen Del re Thornton, whose father was a probable victim of organ trafficking, had pointed out a certain Michael Mastromarino as one of the mastermind of one such horrid trafficking ring. Kevin campaigned online and went door to door around the neighborhood to raise support to expose people like Mastromarino, but his efforts went in vain as he found no one willing to back him up. His family had turned their back on him; he had plunged himself into an inescapable mess and now was hopping through a number of controversies that weren’t even related to the organ trafficking situation and probably would have given up his efforts after a point had not Mastromarino turned out to be truly associated with an organ harvesting ring that involved funeral homes across a number of states. This was the biggest ‘I told you so’ moment in Kevin’s life, which pushed his quest for justice to gain such momentum that in the course of several related events, he will find himself a suspect in the president’s assassination ploy.
What Made Kevin The Primary Suspect?
The Mastromarino case had given Kevin a dose of newfound confidence, and he had decided to approach Mississippi State Representative Steve Holland with a proposed House Bill Resolution made by him, which demanded a ban on organ selling. Holland, who had introduced the first organ donation program in the state, was unwilling to even acknowledge Kevin’s request. The fact that he was the owner of the three largest funeral homes in the state of Mississippi made Kevin wary about his intentions, as he considered Holland to be in cahoots with the chief controllers of the trafficking rings. Senator John Wicker had invited Kevin to perform at one of his private parties on one occasion and made the mistake of acknowledging the fact that he was aware of the fact that Kevin has an online presence and of his extensive research in the topic of organ trafficking, and Kevin started seeing hope to finally put the word out to higher authorities. However, his resolve was shaken after he realized he had to go through Steve Holland to do so, who in Kevin’s eyes was a suspect in all this—and now he started to suspect Wicker’s intentions as well. While all this was going on, Kevin’s obsession pushed Laura and Jack away from him; the most tragic part is Kevin’s children, while still being sympathetic towards their father’s plight, lamented his maddening pursuit for a truth that may or may not have existed in the first place, ultimately ruining his life and that of his close ones as well. Although one thing was pretty certain: Kevin’s rants had made him a target of certain people who didn’t want his voice to reach others, and he was harassed on a number of occasions. At this point in time, Kevin had befriended a Republican political candidate, James Everett Dutschke, who was rivalling Steve Holland’s position, and had promised Kevin to publish his research—but didn’t keep his word at the end. More of that later, as Dutschke turned out to be the prime villain in Kevin’s larger-than-life story.
David Daniels had sued Kevin for a past incident of assault, and not only was Kevin on his own during the trial, but Steve Holland’s mother, Sadie Holland—director of a number of funeral homes across the state—turned out to be the judge. By now, it shouldn’t take viewers much to imagine how Kevin liked to connect the dots, and he had this big revelation that everyone in the state who held certain authority was outto see him silenced; everyone profited from the billion-dollar worth black market of organ trafficking, and Kevin’s pursuit for justice would have ended up exposing all of them. A desperate Kevin had written a semi-autobiographical work, “Missing Pieces,” where he put his honest assessment about everything that he thought was going on to cover up the extensive conspiracy. After the release of his book, Kevin was being actively targeted by police, illegally harassed, and threatened for his kids’ lives—and the more the authorities tried to push him to a corner, the more desperate he had become to share his truth with the world. Kevin went on to write to President Barack Obama about the existing conspiracy in Northern Mississippi—and this came to public knowledge as well.
On 15th April, 2013, three letters addressed respectively to Judge Sadie Holland, Senator Roger Wicker, and President Barack Obama were sent, which contained ricin—a highly toxic protein ( “Breaking Bad” fans will surely recognize)—and within a short period of time, the FBI, CIA, Homeland Security, and National Guards—practically every security service under the payroll of the United States government—began a manhunt to apprehend the perpetrator, the terrorist, who might have sent the letters. Clues from the letters indicated the source to be Mississippi, after which all major hints led the FBI agent duo—Thomason and Quaka—to Kevin’s residence, and he was captured and dragged like a dreaded criminal out of his home. However, upon initial interrogation, it became pretty clear that Kevin lacks the skills of aptitude it would take for someone to formulate ricin. Kevin had suspected that his investigation would disturb certain sections of people, but he could never have assumed the extent of the repercussions would be so huge. However, upon knowing the nature of the crime, he was able to realize the culprit who had framed him—it was none other than James Everett Dutschke.
Why Did Dutschke Frame Kevin?
The final episode of The Kings of Tupelo focuses on Dutschke, who, like Kevin, is quite a unique personality, to say the least. Dutschke wasn’t a native to Tupelo, but like Kevin, he too has his beginning in showmanship—as a guitarist in his indie band. Dutschke had become a martial arts instructor later in his life, was a member of Mensa International, for which he took much self-pride in his intelligence, and was conceited to say the least. After arriving in Tupelo, Dutschke opened his tae kwon do dojang, raised a family, and took a job at Jack Curtis’ insurance office. After Dutschke recognized Kevin from his extensive research, which was already a topic of ridicule across the small town, Kevin mistook his friendliness for a genuine willingness to support his crusade for truth. Kevin became obsessed with Dutschke and desperately wanted to earn his validation, especially after Dutschke made a mark in the political field—but after learning about Kevin’s obsession, Dutschke didn’t want to be associated with him. The biggest irony is that Kevin’s conspiracy theories still had some basis and didn’t intend any form of discriminatory malice, while during his political campaigns, Dutschke had shown his true colors as a xenophobic, racist, shrewd person who didn’t spare a chance to spread deliberate conspiracies by targeting different sects of people and libeling those he didn’t even know. Dutschke was a truly crooked, amoral person, or at least how he turned out to be after entering the field of politics.
Despite his attempt to bury Steve Holland in the elections by incessantly libeling him, Dutschke faced a humiliating defeat, and Sadie Holland made a public mockery of him during one of his political campaigns. Senator Roger Wicker and the Republicans who were on good terms with Dutschke during the initial phase of the campaign had cast him out as a bad investment, and his life spiraledto a miserable state. To make matters worse for him, Kevin couldn’t handle Dutschke’s rejection and began an online feud with him that is as silly and nonsensical as you would imagine. The last straw was Kevin impersonating Dutschke on social media platforms and presenting a fake Mensa certificate just to annoy him further. Their rivalry became the talk of the town soon enough; two grown men having a beef online is quite a sight to behold anyway. Dutschke’s life had already hit rock bottom, and now he was planning to get revenge upon Kevin and his political rivals—kill two birds with one stone. Fifteen days before the ricin incident, Dutschke was arrested for indecent exposure and sexually harassing minors, and upon learning of the ultimate downfall of his archenemy, Kevin was elated. Little did he know that Dutschke had planned to use his pursuit for truth to frame him in a way that might have resulted in his life imprisonment or worse.
However, as the FBI agents began to suspect Dutschke by analyzing the enmity angle, they found irrefutable evidence of him changing the letter address and creating ricin at his residence—which was enough to put him into custody and free an innocent man who had nothing to do with all this. Dutschke was intelligent; he used the common enmity against the political figures he shared with Kevin to frame him, but his overconfidence and arrogance turned out to be his Achilles’ heel at the end.
Did Kevin reconcile with his family at the end?
Upon his release, Kevin became quite famous—and his research, conspiracies, and past life as an Elvis impersonator came to light. Appearing on talk shows and high-profile interviews, Kevin experiences the limelight for the first time—and in a way, he has to thank Dutschke for this newfound fame. The experiences helped Kevin to see his life in a new light; his brother Jack—with whom he shared a feud over their differing ideologies and motivations through several years—had been a strong moral support when he was in the most vulnerable situation of his life, and this led him to finally prioritize his family over everything. Kevin and Jack restarted “Double Trouble,” as an act of reconciliation—and now knowing the “Missing Pieces” were his family all along, Kevin pledges to be a better father to his children than he had been so far.
As The Kings of Tupelo ends, Kevin seems to have grown a sympathetic outlook towards Dutschke, and probably in a satirical way, it is hinted that both Kevin and Dutschke were framed by the government to cover up another layer of conspiracy that needs to be resolved.
