Editor's note: In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, the United States faced a second wave of terrorism: anthrax-tainted letters. The investigation lasted seven years, and meandered along a path that included phony leads, blind alleys, and scientific hurdles. Could it happen again? Watch "CNN Presents: Death by Mail" on Sunday, Oct. 2 at 8p/11p ET.
(CNN) -- Nancy Haigwood's career as a scientific researcher in Seattle was on the rise in 2001, when her memory of a sorority-obsessed university classmate helped lead federal investigators to the man they say was responsible for the anthrax attacks in the months following 9/11. But for the first four and a half years, her tip was low priority.
Ten years ago, anthrax-laced letters began showing up at the U.S. Capitol and news agencies in Florida and New York. The anthrax attacks in the fall of 2001 killed five people and sickened 17 others.
In the beginning, the anthrax letters seemed like the work of Islamist extremists. They were postmarked within weeks of the September 11 attacks, and the letters sent to then-Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and Sen. Patrick Leahy declared "Death to America. Death to Israel."
But based on a recurring mixture of Arabic and English expressions in the letters ("Allah is Great") and the high quality of the anthrax spores that spilled out of the envelopes, the FBI announced in November 2001 that it was looking for a rogue insider.
The suspect was not an al Qaeda jihadist, the FBI believed, but more likely someone from within the biotech industry.
full:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/01/us/anthrax-killer-case/index.html