Mail-borne plague-like bacteria killed six people in U.S. mail attacks, suspect never captured

Robert Stevens, a 63-year-old photo editor, received a mailed envelope that infected him with a deadly plague-like bacterium, leading to his death within two weeks. A colleague, Ernesto Blanco, also contracted the disease from a similar letter but survived after weeks of hospitalization. Subsequent investigations linked five more fatalities and 17 illnesses between early October and late November to the same bacterial spores, many of which were delivered to journalists, a senator’s office and other media staff.

The envelopes contained the spores and a message threatening America, Israel and invoking a deity. FBI agents traced the letters to the Sun newsroom but never recovered the physical mail, and the suspect remained at large. The case sparked a brief wave of bioterrorism panic, but the investigation eventually stalled without any arrests.