Odd: scientist commits suicide after learning would be charged in anthrax attacks

Bruce Ivins - a biotechnology researcher at Fort Detrick in Maryland - apparently committed suicide using Tylenol 3 and died Tuesday. That was after he learned that the government would charge him in the anthrax mailings of a few years ago. According to this the story was uncovered by the L.A. Times, but at post time the headline on their site returns a "page not found". However:

Henry S. Heine, a scientist who had worked with Ivins on inhalation anthrax research at Fort Detrick, said he and others on their team have testified before a federal grand jury in Washington that has been investigating the anthrax mailings for more than a year... Ivins was the co-author of numerous anthrax studies, including one on a treatment for inhalation anthrax published in the July 7 issue of the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.

Related posts on the strange deaths of biodefense researchers, microbiologists, and the like here, here, and here.

Miscellania · Thu, 07/31/2008 - 21:08 · · Importance: 1