Federal authorities released hundreds of pages of documents yesterday in an effort to show that they could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Bruce Edwards Ivins, the Army scientist who killed himself last week, was the sole person responsible for the deadly 2001 anthrax attacks.
The investigators explained how they traced the anthrax used in the attacks back to Ivins' lab at Fort Detrick in Frederick, how Ivins allegedly stymied their investigation, and how what they called a history of mental illness and obsessive behavior helped them build a case that is circumstantial but, they said, irrefutable.
"The painstaking investigation led us to the conclusion that Dr. Bruce E. Ivins was responsible for the death, sickness and fear brought to our country by the 2001 anthrax mailings and it appears, based on the evidence, that he was acting alone," said Joseph Persichini, assistant director of the FBI's Washington field office.
Officials said they were taking the "extraordinary" step of releasing search warrants, affidavits and other documents because of keen public interest in the massive investigation into one of the most perplexing cases of domestic terrorism. But the disclosure also underscores the deep skepticism facing the FBI and the Justice Department, which were unable to solve the mystery for years.
Five people were killed and 17 injured from anthrax that was sent in letters to Congress and news organizations in September and October 2001. The lengthy federal probe into the attacks hit several dead-ends and led to a $5.8 million payment to a man wrongly identified as a person of interest, Steven J. Hatfill, who also worked at Fort Detrick.
A memorial service was held for Ivins yesterday at Fort Detrick, where the scientist had labored for decades to develop vaccines for anthrax. The service was attended by hundreds of soldiers, scientists and family members, according to Ivins' lawyers, who released a statement saying that no concrete evidence had been presented against their client.
"The government's press conference was an orchestrated dance of carefully worded statements, heaps of innuendo and a staggering lack of real evidence - all contorted to create the illusion of guilt by Dr. Ivins," said the lawyers, Paul F. Kemp and Thomas M. DeGonia. They have repeatedly said he was innocent.
