Government Scientist Commits Suicide Before Anthrax Indictment
Updated: A government scientist who worked in a biodefense research lab apparently committed suicide after being notified that he was going to be indicted in the 2001 anthrax attacks that killed five people, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The researcher, Bruce Ivins, worked in the same lab in Ft. Detrick, Md., as Steven Hatfill, the former Army scientist who received a $5.8 million settlement from the Justice Department for disclosing that he was a person of interest in the case. Ivins took an overdose of prescription Tylenol mixed with codeine, according to the Times.
Prosecutors were weighing whether to seek the death penalty against Ivins, the Associated Press reports.
Ivins helped analyze anthrax recovered from an envelope in the 2001 attacks, but aroused suspicion when he failed to report anthrax contamination in and around his own office in late 2001 and early 2002, the story says. Ivins claimed that he was cleaning up areas contaminated by a sloppy lab technician.
After the settlement with Hatfill, Ivins entered a facility for treatment of depression and he was forced to retire. A colleague told the newspaper that federal scrutiny of him had taken its toll and he had no more money to spend on legal fees.
Ivins was as one of the nation’s leading biodefense researchers. His lawyer, Paul Kemp, confirmed the federal investigation of his client and said his innocence would have been established in a trial.
The Smoking Gun reports that Ivins was scheduled to appear in Frederick County, Md., court yesterday in connection with a peace order petition filed by Jean Duley, program director of Comprehensive Counseling Associates. Duley characterized him in her petition as a client who had a “history dating to his graduate days of homicidal threats, actions, plans, threats & actions towards therapist.” The petition was based on threatening phone calls made to Duley in early July.
Updated at 9:25 a.m. to include information from AP that the government was considering the death penalty, and at 4:05 p.m. to include link from The Smoking Gun.
