Anthrax Scientist Kills Himself as FBI Closes In
Biodefense Researcher Apparently Commits Suicide Amid Probe of 2001 Anthrax Attack
By PIERRE THOMAS and JASON RYAN
Aug. 1, 2008—
One of the nation’s top biodefense researchers has apparently taken his own life, just as the FBI zeroed in on him as a suspect in the deadly 2001 anthrax attacks.
Sources familiar with the investigation tell ABC News that 62-year-old Bruce Ivins, who worked at the military lab at Fort Detrick, Md., died of a prescription drug overdose this week. The story was first reported by the Los Angeles Times.
His death came as FBI agents had been aggressively interviewing friends, family and associates about the possibility he was responsible for a series of anthrax mailings that left five dead, sickened 17 and terrorized a nation still reeling from the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
FBI officials had long targeted Fort Detrick as the possible source of the anthrax attacks because of the facility’s intensive research on anthrax as a biological weapon.
Ivins had actually helped the FBI in the anthrax investigation and had ties to the location in New Jersey where the anthrax was mailed. The toxin arrived via mail to Capitol Hill offices and at news organizations in Florida and New York.
The government had not, however, charged Ivins with any crime, and it is unclear what, if any, hard evidence the government had against him.
Despite years of frustration, FBI Director Robert Mueller said in a recent interview with ABC News that he was confident the case would be solved.
“We’ve made progress in the investigation — I’m comfortable that the investigation is on course and that ultimately it will be successful,” said Robert Mueller.
But there have been major missteps in this case, and the FBI has thought it was close before.
In June, the government settled a lawsuit with another scientist from Fort Detrick, agreeing to pay Steven Hatfill nearly $6 million amid allegations he was unfairly targeted and humiliated by leaks to the press.
As for the ongoing investigation into the attacks, as of late June, the FBI had served 75 search warrants, conducted more than 9,100 interviews and served in excess of 6,000 subpoenas .
According to the bureau, the anthrax task force is currently comprised of 17 FBI special agents and 10 U.S. Postal Service inspectors.
The bureau has not commented extensively on the investigation, but in the fall of 2006, FBI scientist Doug Beecher, a member of the bureau’s Hazardous Materials Response Unit based at the its laboratory at Quantico, Va., wrote in an article that no specialized equipment or specialized knowledge of bioengineering was needed to pull off the 2001 attacks.
Beecher’s article, which appeared in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, is a rare example of the FBI disclosing information on the anthrax investigation.
According to Homeland Security officials, President Bush occasionally asks how the investigation is proceeding during his morning intelligence briefing.