Letter To FBI

March 2, 2016
VIA ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION

The Honorable James B. Comey, Jr.
Director
Federal Bureau of Investigation
935 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20535
Dear Director Comey:
On November 2, 2008, 16-year-old Annie McCann was found dead next to a dumpster in
Baltimore, Maryland, two days after apparently running away from home. 1 Following an
autopsy conducted by the Office of the State Medical Examiner, the cause of Annies death was
ruled as lidocaine intoxication. 2 However, the manner of death was undetermined. 3
According to the Baltimore Police Department (BPD), Annie committed suicide by drinking a 5ounce bottle of Bactine, which contains lidocaine and is manufactured by Bayer Corporation. 4
Yet, in an email obtained by this Committee and dated November 4, 2009, a Bayer
employee explained to Annies parents, [T]he amount of lidocaine in a single 5[-]ounce bottle
[of Bactine] would not be expected to produce death. The Committee has learned that Annies
parents presented BPD with a copy of this email on August 25, 2013. In response, BPD
allegedly asked Annies parents to have Bayer state this opinion on official Bayer letterhead.
This Committee has also learned that Annies parents have repeatedly requested BPD to
provide documentation of the lab results of Annies rape kit. To date, however, those records
have apparently not been produced. In addition, Annies parents claim that BPD refused to
interview a funeral home employee who allegedly observed upon examination of Annies corpse
1
Police Department, Baltimore, Maryland, Criminal Investigation Division, Questionable Death CC#-098-2K00565,
Case# 08P392 Final Office Report, [hereinafter BPD Office Report] at 1-2.
2
BPD Office Report, at 3.
3 Id.
4
Id.; see also Tom Jackman, What happened to Annie? Nov. 2, 2009, The Washington Post, available at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/01/AR2009110102089_pf.html; Tricia Bishop,
Father says accused teen, companion know nothing of girls death, Nov. 13, 2009, The Baltimore Sun, available
at http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bal-md.mccann13nov13-story.html; Peter Hermann,
Parents of Annie McCann say new leads in daughters death, Jan. 18, 2012, The Baltimore Sun, available at
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bal-parents-of-dead-virginia-girl-says-news-leads-in-case20120118-story.html.
Director Comey
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evidence of sodomy. Also, BPD allegedly began an interview of a key witness in 2013 by
stating, The McCanns just wont face facts, so I have to ask you a few questions.
This Committee, which has jurisdiction and oversight responsibilities over the Justice
Department, has also learned that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) assisted BPD in this
investigation. Redacted copies of emails exchanged in September 2013 show that the FBIs
Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) provided a list of recommendations to BPD touching upon
various aspects of the case as well as a document advising BPD on communications strategy
with Annies parents. Other documents show that the FBI may have conducted forensic tests of
the McCanns vehicle which was found abandoned near Annies body and of a computer
belonging to the McCanns. This Committee is seeking a more complete understanding of BPDs
decision to treat this case as a suicide rather than a homicide, and what role the FBIs
involvement played in that decision.
Accordingly, by March 18, 2016, please provide this Committee with non-redacted
copies of all records related to the FBIs involvement in this case, including:
1. the recommendations list and the communications strategy document mentioned
above, and
2. all records relating to communications about the McCann case between or among
FBI employees or BPD.
Should you have any questions, please contact Jay Lim of my Committee staff at (202)
224-5225. Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Grassley
Chairman
Senate Judiciary Committee
cc:
The Honorable Patrick Leahy

Ranking Member
Senate Judiciary Committee

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March 2, 2016

VIA ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION

The Honorable Patrick Leahy

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