Man pleads guilty to threatening ex-wife, mailing rat to her Florida home

TAMPA, Fla. - An Indiana man faces up to five years in federal prison for threatening his ex-wife over several years and mailing a dead rat to her Florida home. 

Court records show 55-year-old Romney Christopher Ellis pleaded guilty Thursday in Tampa federal court to making interstate threats and mailing injurious articles. 

According to a criminal complaint, Ellis had engaged in a four-year-long campaign of harassment against his ex-wife. 

On one occasion, Ellis mailed a package to the victim's home containing a dead rat and black rose. 
Postal inspectors executed a search warrant at Ellis's Indianapolis home in February.