DC area, New Find Reignites Anthrax Probe
Mark Fenster
Evidence From Pond May Indicate Killer's Method
By Marilyn W. Thompson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, May 11, 2003; Page A01
The FBI has developed a new theory on a central mystery of the 2001
anthrax attacks after finding evidence in a Frederick, Md., pond that
may suggest how an ingenious criminal could have packed deadly anthrax
spores into envelopes without killing or sickening himself, according
to sources close to the investigation.
A piece of equipment and other evidence recovered this winter from
ice-covered ponds in Frederick Municipal Forest have reinvigorated the
18-month-old case, leading officials to explore a novel theory with
shades of science fiction. Some involved in the case believe that the
killer may have waded into shallow water to delicately manipulate
anthrax bacteria into envelopes, working within a partly submerged
airtight chamber. When finished, the killer could have easily hidden
the evidence by simply dumping contaminated equipment and clothing
into the pond.
Publicly, the FBI has said nothing about material that divers
recovered during the elaborate search missions in December and
January, which involved cutting through thick ice atop about a dozen
spring-fed ponds on the city-owned parkland. Debra Weierman, media
coordinator for the FBI's Washington Field Office, which supervises
the case, declined to comment on the findings or on any law
enforcement theories about how the crimes might have been carried out.
But sources close to the case said the discoveries were so compelling
that the FBI now plans to drain one of the ponds in another search for
sunken evidence. The FBI has notified the city of Frederick and the
Maryland Department of Natural Resources that it will begin the
operation by June 1 and expects to pump thousands of gallons of water
from a single pond into the others and a nearby reservoir. Additional
agents have been assigned to the case, code-named Amerithrax.
Two sources familiar with the items recovered from the pond described
a clear box, with holes that could accommodate gloves to protect the
user as he worked. Also recovered were vials wrapped in plastic.
Not everyone involved in the case subscribes to the theory. Some
believe that the killer could have completed the task on land and
simply dumped materials into the pond to avoid detection.
These investigators contend that the water theory is the result of the
FBI's interest in one subject, Steven J. Hatfill, a medical doctor and
bioterrorism expert who formerly worked as a researcher at the U.S.
Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases in Frederick.
Attorney General John D. Ashcroft has described Hatfill as "a person
of interest" in the investigation.
Hatfill has a varied background in science and medicine that includes
research for NASA and exploration in Antarctica. On a résumé he sent
several years ago to federal agencies, Hatfill, a former member of the
Rhodesian special forces who received medical training in South
Africa, lists a postgraduate diploma in diving and underwater medicine
from a South African naval training institute.
Hatfill's attorney, Thomas Connolly, called the water theory
"far-fetched" and said Hatfill had nothing to do with the anthrax
crimes.
The evidence found in the pond has buoyed the FBI's hopes for
resolution of the baffling case, which claimed five lives, sickened 13
other people and exposed thousands more to the lethal bacteria. The
attacks involved a series of letters mailed in pre-stamped envelopes
to media outlets in Florida and New York and to the offices of Sens.
Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) and Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.). While en
route, the letters passed through various post offices and postal
distribution centers along the East Coast and left a trail of
contamination.
The five people who died from inhalation anthrax included two postal
workers at the Brentwood postal facility in Washington, a Florida
photojournalist, a New York hospital worker and a 94-year-old woman in
Connecticut.
Entering the water to manipulate virulent anthrax bacteria would
provide some degree of natural protection from finely ground spores,
which disperse in the air and can live for decades in the soil. But
expert opinions vary on whether spores from contaminated equipment
could later be found in a natural body of water.
Several scientists suggested that the spores would likely disperse and
be difficult to trace, but they said it would be wise to test sediment
at the bottom of the pond for the possible presence of hardy microbes.
The FBI's theory could explain why, after numerous searches of homes,
buildings and open land, investigators have failed to locate any sign
of anthrax contamination. It would suggest that the criminal had
experience doing complicated manual tasks in water and was highly
skilled in the use of small laboratory tools to work within an
airtight glove box or bag.
Some FBI officials involved in the case have theorized that the killer
could have put both dry envelopes and secured anthrax powder into an
airtight, waterproof chamber, sealed it shut, then stood in the water
while filling the envelopes. When finished, the envelopes could be
secured inside layers of zip-lock plastic bags and removed from the
protective chamber.
The most commonly used devices for handling dangerous pathogens are
known as glove boxes or bags. They feature polyurethane gloves built
into the chambers. Scientists usually wear additional layers of gloves
for added protection.
The devices come in all sizes and range in price from simple models
that cost less than $150 to custom-designed varieties that are priced
at $10,000 or more. The Justice Department secured the sales records
of major U.S. glove box and bag manufacturers soon after the anthrax
attacks occurred.
The FBI has come under criticism for the pace of the investigation,
which has involved dozens of agents and cutting-edge laboratory
analysis.
The pond findings, the sources said, offer the first possible physical
evidence in a case that, thus far, has been built almost exclusively
on circumstantial clues considered too tenuous to lead to criminal
charges.
But the case still has significant weaknesses, the sources said. A
major problem is that the FBI has found no evidence linking anyone to
the actual mailing of the letters. The two most deadly letters, to
Daschle and Leahy, are believed to have been mailed from a highly
visible mailbox in the village of Princeton, N.J., just across the
street from the Princeton University campus. The box, which tested
positive for anthrax, was removed from its concrete footings in August
2002 and shipped to Army labs for testing.
The water theory has increased investigators' interest in Hatfill, who
formerly lived in an apartment outside Fort Detrick's main gate that
is about eight miles from the ponds.
Based on a tip, FBI teams rushed to seal off the municipal forest in
late December and sent divers into the ponds, which were created
decades ago to provide water in case of forest fires. The FBI said at
the time that it was looking for equipment that might have been used
in the crimes. Since then, a team of FBI agents has returned
occasionally to the site.
The pond searches represented another flurry of activity in an
investigation that had appeared stalled.
Soon after the anthrax letters surfaced, the FBI released a
psychological profile of the likely suspect, describing a disgruntled,
middle-aged white male with scientific training and some experience
working in government research labs. Agents scrambled to interview a
short list of people who fit the profile, then seemed to focus on
Hatfill. After Ashcroft called Hatfill a "person of interest" in the
probe, Hatfill held two news conferences to adamantly proclaim his
innocence.
He remains under round-the-clock FBI surveillance, and his attorney,
Connolly, said he has refused recent approaches from the FBI. Connolly
said Hatfill cannot find a job because of the unjustified FBI
scrutiny.
Connolly said it would not be unusual for the FBI to find scientific
equipment discarded in waters around Frederick, which is home to many
research labs and biotech companies. He suggested that equipment
dredged from the pond could have been discarded by a drug dealer
operating a methamphetamine lab.
The FBI also has questioned Hatfill's associates about a device he
used in much of his recent research. Hatfill had federal backing for
projects using the "rotary cell culture system," a small device
developed by NASA researchers to rapidly culture cells. It is marketed
by Synthecon, a small Texas company.
While at USAMRIID between 1997 and 1999, Hatfill had the backing of a
federal health agency for a project in which he sought to use the
culturing device to develop a "Universal Pathogen System." He hoped to
grow pathogens that had proved difficult to culture, including
possibly the smallpox virus, according to his proposal. Hatfill said
the project would help researchers trying to quickly analyze emerging
infectious diseases.
Roger Akers, a Synthecon vice president and a friend of Hatfill's who
worked with him on an unpublished bioterrorism thriller, said he was
questioned by FBI agents in recent months about whether Hatfill could
have used the rotary cell culture device to grow anthrax bacteria.
Akers said he found the questions silly, because anthrax bacteria are
easy to grow without the aid of such sophisticated equipment.
Akers said Hatfill was trained in the use of the cell culture system,
which he employed both at USAMRIID and during a previous government
research appointment at a division of the National Institutes of
Health.
The FBI has reviewed the manuscript of Hatfill's novel, which is on
file at the U.S. Copyright Office.
Staff writers Allan Lengel and David Snyder contributed to this
report.