Nancy Hegwood
Appearances
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 7: Pot of Gold
I got an email from the American Society of Microbiology asking every single member to please think about who might have been involved in some way in these attacks because it takes expertise and access to have done this.
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 7: Pot of Gold
I remember reading that and immediately having a terrible sinking feeling, just a gut feeling. Oh my God, this could be Bruce.
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 7: Pot of Gold
Bruce had collected a group of people he was emailing on a regular basis, and I happened to be one of those people on the string.
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 7: Pot of Gold
It is not at all normal to send a picture of yourself to other scientists. And in the photograph, you can clearly see that he was not wearing gloves, which was the normal procedure for all microbiological work.
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 7: Pot of Gold
I was nervous. I mean, it's strange to do something like that, especially without any proof. But I just had a terrible feeling it could be Bruce. So I called the FBI that day. I just told them I was concerned and I would appreciate them looking into it, and eventually they did.
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 7: Pot of Gold
So I began to think that they were looking into the possibility he might have been involved a little more seriously.
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 7: Pot of Gold
Bruce is a very friendly guy, and he was a little quirky from the start, but he was serious about his scientific work and was clearly interested in getting to know others since he was relatively new.
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 7: Pot of Gold
He was very interested and took a somewhat out of proportion interest in that and asked lots of questions about what did I know about the cipher book and any of that stuff. And I said, this is secret stuff and we're not going to talk about this anymore. I just thought it was very strange.
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 7: Pot of Gold
I came into work one day and discovered that my lab notebook was not there. And I didn't worry too much. I figured perhaps somebody had come in and borrowed it from, you know, somebody else in my laboratory or my PI might have done that, my professor. But no one seemed to know where it was. So then I started to worry a little bit.
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 7: Pot of Gold
Shortly thereafter, I received a note at my home that the notebook had been deposited in a U.S. mailbox downtown in Chapel Hill, which is sort of a one-host office box town.
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 7: Pot of Gold
I alerted the police, the Chapel Hill police, and eventually they and the post office were able to open the sealed box and there was my notebook.
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 7: Pot of Gold
The police asked me what I thought might have happened. And I said, I suppose it's some kind of prank, but I can't imagine anybody would really do this. It's rather cruel. And I didn't really think anybody from my own lab would do that. And I said, the one person that I'm a little suspicious of doesn't live here anymore. And that's Bruce Ivins.
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 7: Pot of Gold
over the subsequent years since i met bruce and while i was finishing my phd i think that bruce had exhibited more oddball behavior than i had originally seen and i was starting to feel kind of uncomfortable around him and i remember actually talking to him and saying that i i wish him well but that He was married. I'm not really looking for a friend.
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 7: Pot of Gold
And I attempted to, I won't say cut off the relationship, but make it clear to him that certainly anything other than the occasional hello in the lab was not really that welcome.
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 7: Pot of Gold
I called Bruce because that had his fingerprints all over it and said, Bruce, I really do not appreciate this. I believe you're the only person who would have done something like this. And he denied it, but it was clear that he had done that.
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 7: Pot of Gold
I'd never known anyone like that. Scientists are pretty weird people, but this is a far another order of magnitude or two beyond that.
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 7: Pot of Gold
They asked if I would be willing to meet with him, and I ultimately decided not to do that because I thought it was too dangerous. And I had two young children, and I just didn't want to do it.