FBI says evidence points uniquely to Bruce Ivins in anthrax case
The deceased government researcher was the only scientist who had regular access to the unique anthrax spores linked to deadly mailings in 2001, according to FBI documents released today.
WASHINGTON — Federal investigators said today that they had found the man responsible for the "worst act of bioterrorism in U.S. history" and pointed to Dr. Bruce E. Ivins, a government scientist, as the only person who had regular access to the unique strain of anthrax that caused the deaths of five Americans in 2001.
Ivins took his own life July 29 after being told he faced indictment for the mysterious and terrifying anthrax attacks.
"At the time of his death, he was the sole suspect in the case," U.S. Atty. Jeffrey Taylor said at a news conference. "We believe we could prove his guilt to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt for the attacks. We are confident that Dr. Ivins was the only person responsible for the attacks."
FBI documents released today described Ivins as the "sole custodian" of the unique strain of anthrax that was involved in the mailings.
Moreover, Ivins spent evening hours alone in the lab at Ft. Detrick, Md., with this dangerous strand of anthrax in the days before the mailings were sent, the government said.
The investigators and documents they released showed that the alleged anthrax mailer submitted "false samples" of anthrax to mislead investigators, was unable to plausibly explain his late-night activities around the time the powder was mailed and possessed material "identical" to that used in crimes in 2001.
At the news conference, Taylor said releasing the evidence was an "extraordinary" step for the government to take in a case in which an individual had not been charged. But he said it was necessitated by the "justified" public interest in the case.
It took the FBI until 2005 to trace the anthrax used in the 2001 mailings to a unique strain that was kept at Ft. Detrick. This strain, identified as RMR-1029, was stored in a bio-containment suite where Ivins worked.
"Dr. Bruce Ivins has unrestricted access to the suite and has been the sole custodian of RMR-1029 since it was first grown in 1997," U.S. postal inspector Thomas Dellafera said last October in seeking a search warrant of Ivins' home, according to the documents released today.
Remarkably, the FBI says the Ft. Detrick scientists were permitted to enter the lab after hours and work alone with these most dangerous biological agents. The documents suggest that Ivins took advantage of that policy to prepare the lethal doses of anthrax without being detected.
