Larry Ford

For The American football player, see Larry Ford (American football).

Larry Creed Ford, Sr. (September 29, 1950 – March 2, 2000)[1] was a biomedical researcher and gynecologist from Irvine, California, United States who was suspected of conspiring to murder his business partner, James Patrick Riley and subsequently found to have stored lethal biological toxins in his home and office.

Death

On February 28, 2000, Ford's business partner at Biofem, Inc., James Patrick Riley, was shot and wounded by a masked gunman at the company's office near the Irvine Spectrum. Police quickly discovered that the owner of the gunman's getaway van, Dino D'Saachs, made a phone call to Ford the morning of the attack.

Following police questioning on March 2, Ford committed suicide with a shotgun at his Woodbridge home. His suicide note claimed he was innocent of the attempted murder, but added that there was information hidden in the house of interest to the police. When authorities searched the home, they discovered containers buried next to his swimming pool containing assault rifles and C-4 plastic explosives. In refrigerator at his home, were 266 bottles and vials of pathogens. Among them were the bacterial agents of Clostridium tetani and Clostridum difficile.

From the Orange County's Health Officer "The organisms, which were found in extremely poor condition, were identified as Clostridium tetani and Clostridum difficile. C. tetani is ubiquitous in the environment and is the bacterium that can cause tetanus in unvaccinated individuals, or those who were vaccinated in the past but have not maintained their immunity through receipt of the recommended booster doses of vaccine. Tetanus can occur when an open wound, even a medically insignificant one, is contaminated with soil or animal feces. C. difficile can be found in the intestines of 3-8% of healthy adults and it may cause diarrhea in individuals whose intestinal flora has been altered as a result of receiving antibiotics, usually in elderly persons being treated in a hospital.

Some 83 files with medical records and personal items taken by Ford from his female patients were found as trophies hidden in the ground as well. Dr. Vikki Hufnagel who had been filing complaints about Ford to the California Medical Board CMB for years had been repeatedly threaten by Larry . Detective Victor Ray informed Vikki that a file existed in which Ford was planning to kill her.Hufnagel filed to the authorities and the CMB a formal complaint on 01/14/2013 to remove Ford's medical license and to fully investigate the 83 files as well as the cases of two women whom were Ford's mistresses until they came down with toxic diseases which Ford told others he had infected Tammi Tippit and Shane Gregory with. Mike Wallace of 60 minutes interviewed these women on 2/03/2009 in a segment titled "Dr.Death". Ford was in the news years earlier when he was shot in the UCLA parking lot and saw his shooter. It was alleged that Ford was shot by the husband of patient he was having an affair with at the time.

There is no evidence to suggest that these materials were being used to prepare a biological weapon, and neither of these bacteria are on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) list of possible bioterrorism agents. Other reports including the finding of Anthrax on the property which is a threat to public health.

City officials closed an elementary school and evacuated 48 Woodbridge families (about 250 residents) in the immediate area while they performed a thorough search of Ford's home.

To this day the shooter of Mr. Riley has never been caught. With the death of Dr. Ford little can be done to prove he had any connection to the shooting of Mr. Riley.

Alleged ties to South African biological warfare

After Ford killed himself, a number of newspapers alleged that he and Riley had corporate ties with biological warfare development in apartheid-era South Africa. Ford was also linked to Dr. Daniel Knobel, former chief medical officer for the South African Defence Force.

Notes

  1. ↑ "Larry C. Ford, Sr., M.D.". Brigham Young High School Class of 1968. Brigham Young High School Alumni Association. Retrieved 2011-07-07.

References