DNA linked anthrax probe to suicide scientist

DNA taken from the bodies of people killed in the 2001 anthrax attacks helped lead investigators to Bruce Ivins, a US government scientist said.

Dr Ivins killed himself last week as prosecutors prepared to charge him with murder.

Using new genome technology, researchers looked at samples of cells from the victims to identify the kind of anthrax strain that killed them, the scientist said.

They noticed very subtle differences in the DNA of the strain used in the attacks than in other types of Ames anthrax.

With that, investigators linked the specific type of anthrax back to Dr Ivins’ biological weapons lab at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland, where he oversaw its use and handling for research.

“It had to do with the very specific characteristics in the DNA of the letters and what was in Dr Bruce’s labs,” said the government scientist, who is close to the investigation. “They were cultures he was personally responsible for.”

The scientific discovery gave the FBI its first solid break in one of the nation’s most high-profile unsolved crimes after years of pointing the finger at the wrong suspect.

Combined with other evidence, the US Justice Department is expected to close the case this week, concluding Dr Ivins was the mastermind and sole criminal behind the attacks that killed five and sickened 17 others in the weeks following 9/11 terror attacks.

Dozens of other researchers in Dr Ivins’ lab also had access to the type of Ames strain used in the attacks, the scientist said, meaning the DNA alone is not enough to prove his guilt.

Investigators have said they used other evidence to build the case against Dr Ivins, including looking at who had access to the poison or the labs at the specific time it was posted.

Those details are expected to be spelled out in sealed court documents that are expected to be released this week if the Justice Department ends the investigation, possibly as early as today or tomorrow.