Scientists offer new anthrax case data

WASHINGTON, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists studying the case against the man accused of masterminding the deadly 2001 anthrax mailings said spores originated in a flask of the suspect.

In two briefings Monday, the scientists provided more details about the testing that led prosecutors to the prepare murder charges against Army scientist Bruce E. Ivins, who died of a prescription drug overdose July 29 before charges were filed, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.

An attorney who had represented Ivins, a civilian scientist at Ft. Detrick, Md., home to the Army's infectious diseases research facility, said he remained unconvinced.

"This is an ever-evolving script that they are writing," lawyer Paul F. Kemp, told the Times after the briefing.

Five people died and thousands were forced to take antibiotics after anthrax-laced letters were sent to media outlets and the offices of two U.S. senators in 2001.

"I don't think we're ever going to put the suspicions to bed," said Vahid Majidi, a chemist and assistant director of the FBI's weapons of mass destruction unit. "There's always going to be a spore on a grassy knoll."

Among details the eight scientists released Monday was that the mailed anthrax had not been coated with additives to make it more deadly, as other government officials contended.