No closure yet on anthrax case

With the release of some crucial evidence against Bruce Ivins, the anthrax murder suspect who committed suicide last week, the Justice Department has begun the needed task of laying its case before the court of public opinion. But until all of the evidence is available and survives the intense examination this case is bound to attract, it will be too soon to conclude that the case has been solved.

Dr. Ivins, a government researcher at Fort Detrick, Md., died July 29 just prior to a scheduled interview at which government lawyers planned to outline their case against him as the perpetrator of the terrifying 2001 anthrax attacks that killed five people and sickened 17 others. The government has not formally charged anyone, but officials Wednesday that Dr. Ivins is the only suspect.

After Dr. Ivins' death, sensational documents came to light alleging that he was a homicidal sociopath. This unsupported view remains at odds with the sympathetic portrait painted by co-workers and neighbors of a kind but emotionally troubled man.

Among the documents released Wednesday were items linking Dr. Ivins to the language of the anthrax letters, and affidavits alleging that he was custodian of a flask of anthrax culture matching the genetic fingerprint of the anthrax used in the attacks. The match is a central piece of circumstantial evidence, since as many as 10 people reportedly had access to the flask.

The FBI has much at stake. It earlier followed a false trail in designating another Fort Detrick scientist, David J. Hatfill, as a "person of interest" in the crime. Dr. Hatfill sued, protesting that he had been harassed and made a pariah by the FBI. He won a settlement of more than $4 million last month.

Dr. Ivins' self-inflicted death denied the nation the opportunity to have the case against him fully tested in court. In the absence of conclusive proof, ugly conspiracy theories will continue to abound. The FBI should present its whole case to the public - the sooner the better.