The Florida woman received threats and, on one occasion, a rat was mailed to her home. TAMPA, Fla. – An Indiana man has been sentenced to four years and 10 months in federal prison for threatening his ex-wife over several years and mailing a dead rat to her Florida home. He routinely made racially and sexually charged statements in the text messages, including sending sexually explicit images of himself. Ellis sent text messages stating that he had traveled from Indiana to Florida to see his ex-wife. On one occasion, Ellis mailed a package to the victim’s home containing a dead rat and black rose.