Maureen Stevens , wife of Robert Stevens , filed a US $ 50 million lawsuit in 2003 against the government of the United States . 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 . " 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 . " 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 . However , it was soon discovered that the strain of anthrax used was connected to a military research laboratory in Maryland
September 11 terrorist attacks
September 11 attacks
Death of Robert Stevens