Death of Robert Stevens

Robert K. "Bob" Stevens (June 20, 1938 – October 5, 2001) was a British-born American photojournalist for the Sun, a subsidiary of American Media, located in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. He was the first journalist killed in the 2001 anthrax attacks when letters containing anthrax were mailed to multiple media outlets in the United States. The anthrax attacks also killed four others in the United States and sickened seventeen others.[1]

Robert K. Stevens
BornJune 20, 1938
United Kingdom
DiedOctober 5, 2001(2001-10-05) (aged 63)
Boca Raton, Florida
Cause of deathPulmonary anthrax
NationalityAmerican
CitizenshipUnited States
OccupationPhotojournalist and photo editor
EmployerSun
OrganizationAmerican Media
Known forFirst killed in the 2001 anthrax attacks
Spouse(s)Maureen Stevens
Children3

Personal

Robert Stevens was born in Britain,[2] but he resided in Lantana, Florida US with his wife Maureen Stevens, also from Britain.[1][3][4] Stevens and his wife had three children, Nicholas Stevens, Heidi Hogan, and Casey Tozzi.[3][5] Many people described Stevens as a person who loved to spend time outdoors.[4] Stevens died on October 5, 2001 from pulmonary anthrax.[5]

Career

Robert Stevens was a newspaper photo editor for Sun, owned by American Media, until he was hospitalized on October 2, 2001.[3][6] American Media published many different tabloids including the National Enquirer and the Sun.[7][8] Many of the publications that Stevens worked on made claims that Elvis was not dead or that celebrities were pregnant with martians.[9]

Death
Tallahassee
Tallahassee
Miami
Boca Raton
Boca Raton is located within Florida and shown relative to the capital city Tallahassee and Miami.

In early October 2001, letters which contained anthrax were mailed to multiple locations across the United States. After a recent visit to North Carolina, Robert Stevens reported having symptoms similar to the flu.[4] When he was first hospitalized, doctors believed he had developed meningitis. After the doctors completed further testing, it was discovered that he had developed pulmonary anthrax.[4] This had also already been confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).[9] Stevens died on October 5, 2001, making his death the first death from anthrax in 25 years.[10] After an investigation was conducted by the FBI, it was revealed that Stevens had come into contact with anthrax through the letter that was mailed to him at American Media in Boca Raton, Florida.[5]

Stevens was the first person killed in these attacks.[3] In addition to killing Stevens, the anthrax killed two postal workers in Washington, a hospital worker in New York, and a 94-year-old woman from Connecticut, and it caused seventeen other people to become sick.[11] In addition, an envelope containing anthrax was opened in what was once the office of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle. As a result, the House of Representatives was closed down.[9]

Investigation

During their investigation, the FBI concluded that Bruce Edward Ivins, a microbiologist for the United States Army, had mailed the deadly letters.[7] The FBI obtained some of the anthrax spores and analyzed them. After analyzing the spores, the FBI traced the spores to a military lab located at Fort Detrick, Maryland.[1] Ivins quickly became a suspect in the investigation. The FBI began to suspect Ivins when they noticed he had logged in many late-night hours right before the attacks.[12] He was questioned in March 2005 about the attacks, but he could not provide a valid reason why he had worked late those nights. In addition to this, Ivins had sent out several emails in which he discussed his mental state and treatment.[1] In 2008 Ivins killed himself just as the FBI was preparing to arrest him.[8][11] Leading up to his death, Ivins had been hospitalized for psychiatric evaluation after threatening to kill people he worked with, investigators of the anthrax attacks, and many other people who had supposedly wronged him.[11]

Lawsuit
Boca Raton, Florida, is where Robert Stevens worked before his death.

Maureen Stevens, wife of Robert Stevens, filed a US $50 million lawsuit in 2003 against the government of the United States.[13] In the lawsuit, Maureen Stevens claimed "that the government was negligent in failing to stop someone from working at an Army infectious disease lab from creating weapons-grade anthrax used in letters that killed five people and sickened 17 others."[13] Ten years after filing the lawsuit, Maureen Stevens settled with the United States government for US $2.5 million. After Maureen and her lawyer settled with the government, Maureen's lawyer said, "Justice has been served."[14][15]

Context

The anthrax mailings that killed five people and sickened seventeen others came right after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Because they came immediately following 9/11, investigators believed that Al Qaeda was also somehow responsible for the anthrax attacks — only this time, they were using biological weapons.[1][5] However, it was soon discovered that the strain of anthrax used was connected to a military research laboratory in Maryland.[1]

Impact

Robert Stevens was the first anthrax victim to be killed in 25 years.[10] The type of anthrax with which he was killed was rare and lethal. During the investigation, the FBI shut down the offices in which Stevens was employed to collect evidence of anthrax.[16] Another thing that makes the death of Robert Stevens important is that at the time it was very rare for anthrax to be in the form of white powder.[16] At the time experts believed that Anthrax could be found in the soil, in sheep, in cattle, and in horses.[4][6] The machines used to process mail as it came through the system caused anthrax spores to go into the air. Then, by cleaning those same machines, the anthrax spores spread even farther and onto other mail causing twenty two other people to become sick; five of whom died.[6]

Reactions

The main reaction to these events was fear that the deaths were the work of terrorists in the United States only a few weeks after the September 11 attacks, and the United States Postal System also became fearful as the letters containing anthrax were mailed through the postal service.[1] Because of this fear, online sales of Ciprofloxacin, an antibiotic used to treat anthrax, drastically went up. People purchasing the antibiotic were paying more than ten times the normal cost of the drug.[9]

See also

References
  1. Daniel Nasaw. "US authorities say deceased scientist responsible for anthrax attacks". The Guardian (UK). Archived from the original on 2017-08-29.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-06-01. Retrieved 2016-04-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "BBC NEWS - Americas - Anthrax victim's widow speaks out". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2016-06-01.
  4. ABC News. "Fla. Man Hospitalized With Anthrax". ABC News. Archived from the original on 2016-04-25.
  5. "U.S. Settles Suit Over Anthrax Attacks". New York Times. 30 November 2011. Archived from the original on 9 November 2016.
  6. "The Anthrax Mail Attack". National Postal Museum. Archived from the original on 2016-04-25.
  7. "Feds formally close book on 2001 anthrax attack that killed Boca Raton photo editor". Sun-Sentinel Tribune. Archived from the original on 2016-06-03.
  8. Terry Frieden, CNN (29 November 2011). "Family of 2001 anthrax victim settles with government". CNN. Archived from the original on 4 May 2016.
  9. "Ten Years Ago Today the Anthrax Nightmare Unfolded, and Globalized". Council on Foreign Relations. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06.
  10. "Timeline: How The Anthrax Terror Unfolded". NPR.org. 15 February 2011. Archived from the original on 26 December 2016.
  11. "FBI concludes investigation into 2001 anthrax mailings". CNN. Archived from the original on 2016-04-26.
  12. "FBI investigation of 2001 anthrax attacks concluded; U.S. releases details". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2012-11-10.
  13. "Widow, US Reach Settlement Deal In Florida Anthrax Death". CBS Miami. Archived from the original on 2016-05-14.
  14. "Lantana anthrax widow settles $50 million lawsuit against federal". Palm Beach Post. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06.
  15. "US To Pay $2.5M In Photo Editor Robert Stevens' Anthrax Death". The Huffington Post. 29 November 2011. Archived from the original on 4 August 2016.
  16. "USATODAY.com - Investigators hunt for source of rare anthrax". Usa Today.
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