Anthrax suspect was ‘homicidal’

An Army microbiologist who committed suicide this week after being identified as a suspect in the 2001 anthrax attacks had been committed to a mental hospital last month after a psychiatrist described him as homicidal and sociopathic, court records show.

Bruce E. Ivins, 62, of Frederick, Md., who had been developing vaccines against anthrax and had worked at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick for the past 35 years, was committed to Sheppard Pratt Hospital in the Baltimore area on July 10 after making “threats of homicidal intent,” according to a peace order signed July 24 in Frederick County District Court.

Mr. Ivins is thought to have taken a fatal overdose of a prescription-strength form of the painkiller Tylenol mixed with codeine on July 29.

The 2001 anthrax letters killed five people, sickened 17 others, and terrorized Congress and the nation anew in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. The investigation resulted in a colleague of Mr. Ivins being publicly named in the case and winning a multimillion-dollar settlement from the government.

The court order said Mr. Ivins had a history of making homicidal threats “dating back to his graduate days.” According to the order, his psychiatrist, Dr. David Irwin, described Mr. Ivins as “homicidal, sociopathic with clear intentions.” It also said Mr. Ivins was “currently under investigation and will be charged with 5 capital murders.”

The order was sought by Jean C. Duley, who noted she had been subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury Aug. 1. The order was signed by Judge W. Milnor Roberts, who ordered that Mr. Ivins not contact Ms. Duley, go to her residence or workplace, or come within 50 feet of her at any time. Her home address and place of employment were listed as “confidential.”

Mr. Ivins signed himself out of the hospital on July 16, the order says.

Ms. Duley works as a program director at a counseling center in Frederick. Calls to her work and home were not answered Friday afternoon.

A 2003 recipient of the Pentagon’s Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service, the highest honor given to civilian Pentagon employees, Mr. Ivins died at Frederick Memorial Hospital. He was a colleague at the Fort Detrick facility of Steven J. Hatfill, the former Army scientist who once was identified by the FBI as a “person of interest” in the anthrax investigation.

Mr. Ivins had been told of the FBI investigation, said his Rockville attorney Paul F. Kemp.

“We are saddened by his death, and disappointed that we will not have the opportunity to defend his good name and reputation in a court of law,” said Mr. Kemp in a statement. “We assert his innocence in these killings, and would have established that at trial.”

Mr. Kemp attributed the death of his client to the government’s “relentless pressure of accusation and innuendo.”

The Justice Department, in a brief statement, said only that there had been “significant developments” in the anthrax investigation, but made no mention of Mr. Ivins or his death. The statement confirmed that “substantial progress has been made in the investigation by bringing to bear new and sophisticated scientific tools,” but offered no elaboration.

“We are unable to provide additional information at this time. The department, the FBI and the [U.S. Postal Inspection Service] have significant obligations to the victims of these attacks and their families that must be fulfilled before any additional information on the investigation can be made public. In addition, investigative documents remain under court seal,” Justice said. “We anticipate being able to provide additional details in the near future.”

The peace order noted that the court could not serve formal notice of the court’s ruling because he had been barred from the property at Fort Detrick on the first attempt and then declared deceased on the second try. The case was then dismissed by Judge Janet Rodnick Ambrose “because respondent deceased.”

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