A US government scientist who helped law enforcement search for the 2001 anthrax killer has apparently committed suicide just as he was about to be charged with the attacks, the Los Angeles Times reported on Friday.
Bruce Ivins, 62, had not been publicly named as a suspect in the case of anthrax-laced letters sent to officials and high-profile journalists that sparked wide-spread fear in the wake of the September 11 attacks. But the Times reported that Ivins had been informed of "impending prosecution" in connection with the case, citing sources familiar with the FBI investigation.
The FBI had no immediate comment. "We are not making any official comment or statement at this time," Debbie Weierman, spokeswoman for the FBI's Washington field office, told AFP.
Five people died after handling the tainted letters in the deadliest bio-terrorism attack in US history. Ivins worked for 18 years the US biodefense research laboratories at Fort Detrick, Maryland, preparing anthrax formulations used in vaccine experiments, the daily said.
He even helped the Federal Bureau of Investigation analyse one of the envelopes filled with anthrax spores sent to a US senator's office in Washington. His death, with no mention of suicide, was announced to his former colleagues in an email, the Times reported. "People here are pretty shook up about it," said Caree Vander Linden, a spokeswoman for the agency where he worked. A friend told the Times Ivins died of an overdose of prescription Tylenol mixed with codeine and a former co-worker said he had been treated for depression and had threatened suicide.