Aug 4, 2008 11:18 pm US/Eastern
Friends Don't Believe Ivins Behind Anthrax Attacks
FORT DETRICK, Md. (WJZ) ―
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Dr. Bruce Ivins was a leading anthrax researcher who helped develop anthrax vaccines.
CBS
Dr. Bruce Ivins was a leading anthrax researcher who helped develop anthrax vaccines.
Kai Jackson reports the Fort Detrick scientist took his own life Thursday after learning the FBI was about to charge him with the 2001 mailings of anthrax-laced letters through the U.S. Postal Service to members of the media and to some in Congress.
Five people were killed in those attacks, 17 others injured.
"If you knew Bruce Ivins, you would understand it would be very difficult to put him in a role of a violent person. He simply didn't have that in him," said Jeff Adamovicz.
Adamovicz was Ivins' former supervisor at the Fort Detrick, Md. laboratory where Ivins worked.
Law enforcement sources say new DNA tests show the anthrax used in the attacks likely came from the same laboratory where Ivins worked.
Friends say when the FBI began investigating Ivins, he became more withdrawn and depressed.
"All of us want to see this, the fact in this case brought to bear but we want to see the evidence. We want to see the reasons to believe that Bruce could be possibly guilty of these crimes, and we want to be able to have that presented and not have this case closed," said Adamovicz.
But Ivins' therapist says he has a dark side.
Late last month, she went to Frederick Court asking for a restraining order because of threats he made during a group counseling session.
"Because he was about to be indicted on capital murder charges he was going to go out in a blaze of glory, that he was going to take everybody out with him," said his therapist.
But for now, friends say they just don't believe Ivins is to blame for the anthrax attacks.
"I'm going to continue to remember the Bruce I knew unless the facts prove otherwise," said Adamovicz.
The Justice Department says it's considering closing the case and making the files public. That could happen later this week.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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