The hallway showed in the picture is not at all a "high security" zone of the basement. It is basically the trash pickup area. Maybe the reporters wanted to show the "gloomiest" zone, and it is. The other areas, coming from the elevator, look nicer with the vending machines and access to the stairwell and outside (emergency exit). Also are the receiving dock and sorting area, the mail room, and other storage for heavy cleaning equipment. This hallway can be accessed directly from outside by swiping an ID (and a smile to the camera), or from inside the building through the elevators (after passing the camera and security desk, not gestapo) as most do. Many people have legitimate reasons to go in and out teh buiding without a background check. All that extra security was set up because of the politicized threats against the Stem Cell Center at that time.
It is unreasonable to ask for more security and personal body guards while at work, and since it seems that the criminal is a fully legitimate employee gone nuts, lack of security is not the issue here.
The police and FBI have methodically done everything they could considering the information they had at the time. Their dogs sniffed every inch of the building, and we moved boxes or small furniture to give access to hidden corners. They opened/removed any visible panel on walls and ceilings. It was very thorough. The place is full of sophisticated equipment and there is plenty of double walls to hide all the "guts and behinds" of electronic control panels and other venting apparatus so it looks nice and tidy. Who want to see the back of an autoclave?
I suppose that only after they were sure there was no gap in the security system, did they focus on an in-house criminal and looked at the blue prints to locate hidden cavities, most unknown even by those who work there. Why not blame the architects next?
Only a camera within the facility could have helped to find Annie sooner by tracking her steps further along, but it may not have been enough to prevent the crime. As Pres. Levin said, "you can't stop evil", and evil it was. One person's mind snapped and all the security in the world can't change that. I feel so sorry for Annie, her fiance, their families and friends. And I hope I never met the person who did it...
