Anthrax Case Solved?

[sdreid]

Hi all,

Well, now that an Army scientist, named Bruce Ivins, has committed suicide after supposedly finding out that he was under suspicion for the 2001 anthrax attacks, all is wrapped up, right? The problem is that a lot of people thought it was a Harvard biochemist, named Don Wiley, who killed himself by jumping off a bridge shortly after the last anthrax letter was sent late in 2001. And year ago, the FBI was spending untold millions of dollars trying to pin the murders on Steven Hatfill. Time will tell perhaps.

These sorts of killers are a little hard to classify. Are they serial killers, mass murderers or spree killers? In this case at least, I think I'd place this guy in the spree category.

[sdreid]

On a personal note, I sort of lost my job because of this guy, whoever he was. At the time of the attacks, I was writing monthly articles for America's Most Wanted News Magazine. This publication was sent out of a Virginia post office where one of the attacks occurred and this resulted in a suspension of publishing for a few months. During that time, subscribers were lost that they were unable to regain after the magazine resumed printing. After about a year, publication ceased.

[sdreid]

Just as well give a brief account of the case.

On September 18 of 2001, someone mailed at least five letters containing deadly anthrax spores to different news agencies from somewhere in or near Trenton, New Jersey. As a result, one man died in Florida.

From the same area on October 9, at least two more letters with anthrax were mailed to the offices of two U.S. Senators. From these, two postal workers contracted the disease and died.

There were also two women, one in New York and one in Connecticut, who were infected and died but the source of their contact is unknown.

In addition to the five who were killed, 17 others are known to have come down with anthrax caused illnesses but survived.

Very early, it was assumed that this was a biological attack by some foreign entity but an analysis of the spores indicated that it was probably a domestic strain.

[Mitch Rowe]

In addition to the five who were killed, 17 others are known to have come down with anthrax caused illnesses but survived.

One of those victims was a baby! The babys skin came into contact with the anthrax. Ive seen pictures of the babys injuries. Very sick looking skin lesions! One of the Women was just an old Woman living alone in a rural area! Just the most random types of crimes imaginable! This person had to know that there would be many random victims hurt or killed while the letters were being delivered and opened!
The killer obviously had planned and prepared the attacks before 911. I can only imagine the killer was waiting for something big to happen. But there were few clues to anyone before 911 that there would soon be a major attack. Was the killer actually waiting for a terrorist attack or could it have been any form of attack on Society like Columbine? But Columbine came and went without any anthrax killings? Was the killer then unprepared or wasnt Columbine good enough? How long did the killer actually wait once prepared for the attack? Months? Years? Decades??

These Cases seem to beg more questions than answers!

[sdreid]

Hi Mitch,

Yes, those are all good questions. I wonder if we'll ever get any of the answers.

[sdreid]

Committing suicide after being placed under scrutiny is not always an indication of guilt. There were suicides after questioning in both the Lindbergh kidnapping/murder case and the Caroline Luard murder case and, today, almost no one thinks that either one of these individuals was guilty.

[Pinkerton]

I'll reserve judgment until the evidence is released Stan. However the so called "motive" seems a little far-fetched to me. I've heard it reported that his motive was that he helped work on an earlier anthrax vaccine, and was now trying to work on an improved version. However he was having problems either getting it funded or getting it approved (can't remember). So he sent out the anthrax laced letters presumably to stir up interest in a "better" anthrax vaccine.

By the way, this reminds of another thread going on right now. The Ripper book by the French woman that claims that Macnaughton was none other than Jack the Ripper and basically did it to advance his career. I'm not saying that mass murder in order to advanced one's career is impossible, but seems more like the fodder of Hollywood movies than reality...

[Dan Norder]

It's hard telling what the motive was, but I do hope the FBI releases their reasoning for thinking it was Ivins. We as the public ought to be allowed to judge if the FBI had a reasonable suspicion for ruining his life or not. There are scattered reports of him being a basically good if eccentric guy to others calling him a psychopath.

[sdreid]

Hi Pinkerton and Dan,

Yes, the FBI seems to be mysteriously stingy with their evidence here. If they truly believe that Ivins is their man then there's no reason not to release all they have. Maybe he is the guy but they were sure it was Dr. Hatfill last year and he just won a multi-million dollar suit against them for their actions.

[sdreid]

OK, the "smoking gun" is that the anthrax that was sent matched DNA with samples that only Ivins had access to. Then, why were they harassing Dr. Hatfill all these years. Why wasn't Ivins arrested 6 years ago?

[Dan Norder]

As I understand it, the DNA testing that could determine that was only developed recently.

[sdreid]

Yes, I just heard that too Dan. I also hear that the method has yet to be tested in court with expert testimony pro and con so who knows what it's worth at this stage.

[Celesta]

Stan,

It bothers me that they seem to be trying a little too hard to convince us Ivins is the guy. The fact that they are now pushing this sorority angle looks like an attempt to make him look like some kind of pervert. Maybe I'm too suspicious. so two suspects, by coincidence, are dead. Maybe if they all committed suicide the case would be closed. Sorry---a little cynicism peeking through there, Stan. What do you think of this sorority angle?

I'm sorry about the magazine losing its subscribers over this heinous act and the fact that you lost your job, sort of.

Best,

Cel

[sdreid]

Hi Cel,

I agree, the sorority thing sounds somewhat like a concoction with the aim of smearing this guy. From what I read in this morning's newspaper, some of the methods used on Ivins' family almost sound like police state tactics.

[Dan Norder]

Sorority angle? Looks like I have some more news articles to go catch up on...