Larry Ford

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. The company had been working on a suppository microbicide that worked as a contraceptive and also claimed to prevent AIDS.{{cite news |title=Irvine Cops End Search For Biohazards |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/irvine-cops-end-search-for-biohazards/ |work=CBS News |date=10 March 2000}}{{cite news |last1=Allen |first1=Arthur |title=Mad scientist |url=https://www.salon.com/2000/06/26/biofem/ |work=Salon |date=26 June 2000 |language=en}} Police quickly discovered that the driver of the gunman's getaway van, Dino D'Saachs, made a phone call to Ford the morning of the attack.{{cite news |last1=Morin |first1=Monte |title=Getaway Driver Sentenced in Irvine CEO's Shooting |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jun-30-me-16953-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=30 June 2001}} Prosecutors alleged Ford was behind the attempted murder.{{cite news |last1=Leonard |first1=Jack |title=Biofem Conspiracy Led by Ford, Probe Alleges |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-may-04-mn-26559-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=4 May 2000}}

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 Clostridioides difficile. According to the Orange County's Health Officer, the microorganisms were found in extremely poor condition, though they stated there was no evidence to suggest that these materials were being used to prepare a biological weapon, and neither of these bacteria are on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) list of possible bioterrorism agents.{{cite press release |title=BIOLOGIC AGENTS IDENTIFIED BY MARK HARTON, M.D. |url=http://www.oc.ca.gov/press/2000/2000_May11.htm |website=Orange County |access-date=31 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929183017/http://www.oc.ca.gov/press/2000/2000_May11.htm |archive-date=29 September 2017 |date=11 May 2000}} In later reporting it was alleged that the materials identified, and the risks they represented, may have been based on only a limited sample of the materials uncovered.{{cite news |last1=Humes |first1=Edward |title=The Medicine Man |url=http://www.byhigh.org/Alumni_F_to_J/Ford/EdwardHumes-DrLarryFord.pdf |work=Los Angeles Magazine |date=July 2001}}

Some 83 files with medical records and personal items taken by Ford from his female patients were found under floorboards. Shane Gregory who was Ford's mistress until she became ill and Tami Tippit (a set stylist) who became ill after a single business lunch with Ford. Ford went on to brag to others how he had infected them with various diseases.{{cite news |last1=Kohn |first1=David |title='Dr. Death' And His Accomplice |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dr-death-and-his-accomplice/ |work=60 Minutes |publisher=CBS News |date=11 February 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021152736/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/10/30/60minutes/main527530.shtml |archive-date=21 October 2012}}

City officials closed an elementary school and evacuated 250 local residents in the immediate area while they performed a thorough search of Ford's home.{{cite news |last1=Thomas |first1=Jo |title=California Doctor's Suicide Leaves Many Troubling Mysteries Unsolved |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/03/us/california-doctor-s-suicide-leaves-many-troubling-mysteries-unsolved.html |work=The New York Times |date=3 November 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230223020334/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/03/us/california-doctor-s-suicide-leaves-many-troubling-mysteries-unsolved.html |archive-date=23 February 2023|url-status=live}}{{cite news |title=Explosives Are Removed From Doctor's House |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/12/us/explosives-are-removed-from-doctor-s-house.html |work=The New York Times |agency=The Associated Press |date=12 March 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527133937/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/12/us/explosives-are-removed-from-doctor-s-house.html |archive-date=27 May 2015|url-status=live}}

Around 1978, Ford was shot in a UCLA parking lot. The only bullet that hit him was deflected by dictaphone tapes in his pocket. Ford was unwilling to talk to the police about the event and only told his family soon before his death.

After Ford killed himself, a number of newspapers alleged that he and Riley had ties with biological warfare development in apartheid-era South Africa. Ford was also linked to Daniel Knobel, former chief medical officer for the South African Defence Force, and Wouter Basson, former head of the country's secret chemical and biological warfare project.{{cite news |last1=Martelle |first1=Scott |last2=Gottlieb |first2=Jeff |title=Puzzle Deepens in Irvine Shooting and Suicide |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-mar-20-me-10855-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=20 March 2000}}

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Category:1950 births

Category:2000 suicides

Category:2000 deaths

Category:Suicides by firearm in California