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Unabomb has been at it since 1978 mailing letter bombs to scientists, computer industry people and politicians. Although Unabom has only killed three, many have been severely injured by his lethal postal work. His last victim, a California Forestry Association executive, was killed in 1995, four days after the Oklahoma bombing.
A intellectual psychopath, Unabomb likes to plant references to wood and forestry in his bombing text. In 1995, in a desperate cry for attention, the moody bomber threatened to blow up an airliner in Los Angeles International Airport during the fourth of July weekend. Nothing came to pass, except that the Unabomber became the hottest publishing commodity in the nation after he requested that his treatise against technology be published by the media. Finally, on September 1995, the Washington Post and the New York Times published his manifesto. On November 6, 1995, the FBI declared that Unabom no longer was considered a terrorist and that his profile was more like that of a serial killer.
On April 3, 1996, Federal Agents arrested Theodore J. Kaczynski, a Harvard grad and former UC Berkeley math professor, in a remote cabin in the Montana mountains. Authorities believe Ted is indeed the mysterious Unabomber. After a 18-year search, Kaczynski's brother David broke the case when he uncovered old letters in his mother's attic that sounded like Unabom. Through a lawyer David handed the documents to authorities after negotiating that they would not pursue the death penalty. After a three week stakeout around Kaczynski's remote mountain cabin in the freezing wilderness near the Continental Divide, federal agents arrested the reclusive genius.
The cabin, a Spartan hand-built 10-by-12-foot wood and tar paper structure, had no electricity, phone or running water. The reclusive ex-professor's only means of transportation was a red bike he rode into town to buy supplies when the harsh Montana weather allowed. For more than twenty-five years he led a hermit's life in the mountains that would have made Saint Anthony proud. It is unclear how someone living under such austere isolation could have perpetrated the series of intricate bombings authorities claimed he did.
To prove their case against the reclusive mountain-man/genius the Feds have "leaked" information to the press about two partially assembled bombs discovered in his home. They also stated that one of his three typewriters "might" matched the one used to write the serial bomber's 35,000-word rant against industrialization. They also claimed to have found the original manuscript. All in all 700 pieces of evidence were carted away from his cabin before the Feds decided to take the cabin itself to a nearby Airforce base for safekeeping.
On the positive side, after years of isolation Teddy does not seem troubled by his new living conditions. Being back in civilization, Ted has been showering on a daily basis and is enjoying the fine prison cuisine. Apart from that, his hermit life seems to remain the same. He still reads avidly and his cell is bigger than the cabin in which he lived for more than 25 years. He has been soft spoken and pleasant with everyone he has come in contact with. However he has not said a word regarding the accusations leveled against him. Perhaps he is saving it for the legions of Hollywood agents anxiously waiting by his cell door with lucrative deals for the exclusive book and film rights to his side of the story.
On May 16, 1997, Attorney General Janet Reno authorized prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Teddy K. The K. family, who was instrumental in his arrest, was "devastated" by the news and regretted having helped the government with their investigation. On the other hand, family members of several of the victims praised the decision. Here at the Archives we believe the government's reversal will eventually backfire in this and other cases where they might need the cooperation of family members to enforce the law. "The family now are the ultimate hostile witnesses," said Laurie Levenson, associate dean of the Loyola University School of Law.
Unabomb has been at it since 1978 mailing letter bombs to scientists, computer industry people and politicians. Although Unabom has only killed three, many have been severely injured by his lethal postal work. His last victim, a California Forestry Association executive, was killed in 1995, four days after the Oklahoma bombing.
A intellectual psychopath, Unabomb likes to plant references to wood and forestry in his bombing text. In 1995, in a desperate cry for attention, the moody bomber threatened to blow up an airliner in Los Angeles International Airport during the fourth of July weekend. Nothing came to pass, except that the Unabomber became the hottest publishing commodity in the nation after he requested that his treatise against technology be published by the media. Finally, on September 1995, the Washington Post and the New York Times published his manifesto. On November 6, 1995, the FBI declared that Unabom no longer was considered a terrorist and that his profile was more like that of a serial killer.
On April 3, 1996, Federal Agents arrested Theodore J. Kaczynski, a Harvard grad and former UC Berkeley math professor, in a remote cabin in the Montana mountains. Authorities believe Ted is indeed the mysterious Unabomber. After a 18-year search, Kaczynski's brother David broke the case when he uncovered old letters in his mother's attic that sounded like Unabom. Through a lawyer David handed the documents to authorities after negotiating that they would not pursue the death penalty. After a three week stakeout around Kaczynski's remote mountain cabin in the freezing wilderness near the Continental Divide, federal agents arrested the reclusive genius.
The cabin, a Spartan hand-built 10-by-12-foot wood and tar paper structure, had no electricity, phone or running water. The reclusive ex-professor's only means of transportation was a red bike he rode into town to buy supplies when the harsh Montana weather allowed. For more than twenty-five years he led a hermit's life in the mountains that would have made Saint Anthony proud. It is unclear how someone living under such austere isolation could have perpetrated the series of intricate bombings authorities claimed he did.
To prove their case against the reclusive mountain-man/genius the Feds have "leaked" information to the press about two partially assembled bombs discovered in his home. They also stated that one of his three typewriters "might" matched the one used to write the serial bomber's 35,000-word rant against industrialization. They also claimed to have found the original manuscript. All in all 700 pieces of evidence were carted away from his cabin before the Feds decided to take the cabin itself to a nearby Airforce base for safekeeping.
On the positive side, after years of isolation Teddy does not seem troubled by his new living conditions. Being back in civilization, Ted has been showering on a daily basis and is enjoying the fine prison cuisine. Apart from that, his hermit life seems to remain the same. He still reads avidly and his cell is bigger than the cabin in which he lived for more than 25 years. He has been soft spoken and pleasant with everyone he has come in contact with. However he has not said a word regarding the accusations leveled against him. Perhaps he is saving it for the legions of Hollywood agents anxiously waiting by his cell door with lucrative deals for the exclusive book and film rights to his side of the story.
On May 16, 1997, Attorney General Janet Reno authorized prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Teddy K. The K. family, who was instrumental in his arrest, was "devastated" by the news and regretted having helped the government with their investigation. On the other hand, family members of several of the victims praised the decision. Here at the Archives we believe the government's reversal will eventually backfire in this and other cases where they might need the cooperation of family members to enforce the law. "The family now are the ultimate hostile witnesses," said Laurie Levenson, associate dean of the Loyola University School of Law.
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