A US Army scientist who killed himself amid an anthrax investigation lead a double life. The investigation uncovered details of Bruce Ivins’ double life, including the fact that he could have collected patent royalties on an anthrax vaccine that he co-invented.

According to the Los Angels Times, Ivins, who is listed as a co-inventor on two patents for a genetically engineered anthrax vaccine, as federal records show, and as a co-inventor on an application to patent an additive for various biodefense vaccines, was among those in line to collect patent royalties if the product had come to market, an executive familiar with the matter said.

The executive said the biotechnology company, VaxGen, agreed to share sales-related proceeds with the inventors. But the company could not deliver the batches of the new vaccine in time so the inventors were not paid, the same source noted.

Last weekend, Dr. Ivins, a 62-year-old father of two, took an overdose of Tylenol with codeine just as the Justice Department was prepared to file criminal charges against him in the anthrax attacks that killed five people and sickened 17. The finely powdered anthrax was sent through the mail to media organizations and politicians shortly after the September 11 attacks by al Qaeda militants in 2001. Dr. Ivins joined about 90 of his colleagues at the Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases in a laboratory to test thousands of samples of suspect powder to see if they were anthrax.

Ivins’ family and friends were shocked to find out about the possible criminal charges. One of his colleagues described the scientist as “a brilliant man, very intense with his work.”

In addition to authorities investigating the 2001 deadly anthrax attacks, Ivins was scheduled to appear in court Thursday after a woman accused him of stalking her. He was under a restraining order on allegations of stalking, threatening and harassing a woman.