NEW YORK - A New York lawyer's death has been formally linked to dust from the collapse of the World Trade Center's Twin Towers after the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Charles S. Hirsch linked the death of Felicia Dunn-Jones, 42, to the toxic dust, The New York Times reported.

Jones' office was a block from the towers. She breathed in dust as she fled the scene Sept. 11, 2001.

Hirsch's letter said he was certain "beyond a reasonable doubt" that the dust contributed to Jones' death five months after the attack. The cause of her death will be changed to homicide from natural causes.

Jones' name will bring the official death toll of the twin towers attack to 2,750, the newspaper said.

"The city medical examiner has now accepted what thousands of people with 9/11-related illnesses and their doctors have long understood: that ground zero dust was harmful and even deadly," Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, D-N.Y., said.

Copyright ©  2007, by United Press International. All Rights Reserved.