Army scientist suspect in US anthrax attacks kills himself

Published on Friday 1 August 2008 22:24

A BIOSCIENTIST who could have faced the death penalty if convicted as the man behind the 2001 anthrax attacks has died from a suspected overdose of painkillers.

Bruce Ivins, 62, a top US army microbiologist who was developing a vaccine against anthrax, died in hospital on Tuesday.

Family members have said they believe he took his own life. The Los Angeles Times reported that the scientist took a huge dose of the prescription drug Tylenol, mixed with codeine.

Prosecutors investigating the 2001 anthrax attacks were planning to indict and seek the death penalty against Mr Ivins after five people died and 17 became ill after coming into contact with anthrax powder in letters sent to the Washington offices of Congress members, TV networks in New York and tabloid newspaper offices in Florida. Two postal workers in a Washington sorting office, a New York hospital worker, a British-born picture editor in Florida and an elderly woman in Connecticut were killed.

The anthrax threats crippled the postal system and traumatised a country still reeling from the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Officials said Mr Ivins was under investigation to determine whether he released the anthrax to test his vaccine.

They added that prosecutors were planning an indictment that would have sought the death penalty for the attacks.

Described as "a quiet man", Mr Ivins, a devout Roman Catholic, had worked for the past 18 years at the government's biodefence labs at Fort Detrick, Maryland. He was mentioned in the 2003 decoration for exceptional civilian service, the highest honour given to civilian defence department employees. His lawyer, Paul Kemp, said the scientist had co-operated with investigators for more than a year.

Mr Kemp added: "We are saddened by his death, and disappointed that we will not have the opportunity to defend his good name and reputation in a court of law. We assert his innocence in these killings, and would have established that at trial."

He said that Mr Ivins' death was the result of the government's "relentless pressure of accusation and innuendo".

A colleague also alleged Mr Ivins was "hounded" by aggressive FBI agents who raided his home twice. Dr Russell Byrne, a colleague who worked in the bacteriology division of the biodefence research facility for 15 years, said Mr Ivins was forcefully removed from his job by local police recently because of fears that he had become a danger to himself or others.

An internal report revealed Mr Ivins had displayed "unusual" behaviour at the laboratory in the six months following the anthrax mailings, when he conducted unauthorised testing for spores outside containment areas at the infectious disease research unit where he worked.