Convicted terrorist Ted Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber, might have committed suicide Saturday morning, June 10. He died in his jail cell at the age of 81.
Possible Suicide?
A source has informed ABC News that suicide seems to be the cause of death, even though no official ruling has been made.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons reports that around 12:30 AM ET, Kaczynski was discovered unconscious in his cell and sent to a nearby hospital, where he was later declared dead.
In December 2021, Kaczynski was transferred from a high-security prison in Colorado to a federal medical institution in Butner, North Carolina, for health reasons.
Prior to his arrest in 1996, Kaczynski was believed to be the most prolific bomber in American history, yet he eluded authorities for over 20 years. Kaczynski allegedly planted or shipped 16 explosives between 1978 and 1995, killing three and injuring more than 20 individuals.
The FBI also claims that he allegedly made bomb threats on airplanes.
His Long Manuscript
Before he was identified as the Unabomber in 1995, he threatened to keep murdering people until newspapers published a lengthy book he had written, according to ABC News. The US Attorney General and the Director of the FBI recommended the publication of the 35,000-word manifesto in both the New York Times and the Washington Post later that year.
Kaczynski may not have been apprehended if not for the concerns of his brother and sister-in-law. After reading the Unabomber's writings, Kaczynski's sister-in-law, Linda Patrik, was among the first to identify him as the Unabomber.
Patrik discussed her first suspicion that Kaczynski was behind the serial bombings in an interview with 20/20 on ID Presents: Homicide in 2016.
The concepts in the essay seemed familiar to Patrik since she had heard them before from her husband, David Kaczynski.
On April 3, 1995, a nine-man SWAT squad arrested Kaczynski at his Montana cabin after the family decided to inform the FBI. A live device and other bomb components were reportedly discovered by the FBI, along with 40,000 pages of handwritten journals detailing bomb-making attempts and Unabomber crimes.
In Sacramento, California, where Kaczynski's trial took place, the primary focus was not on whether or not he was guilty but on whether or not he was insane and therefore be spared the death sentence.
In 1998, he entered a guilty plea to murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. According to The New York Times, he was given eight separate life terms.
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Unabomber Attacks
Attorney General Merrick Garland oversaw the case against Kaczynski while he was a senior officer at the Justice Department. Before becoming Attorney General, Garland led the investigation into the bombing in Oklahoma City.
Authorities believe he planned attacks in many cities, including the ones where he grew up (Chicago, where his first bomb went off) and worked (Berkeley, where two devices were placed) and where he previously resided (Salt Lake City).
According to the FBI, the moniker Unabomber comes from the case name UNABOM, which is an acronym for the UNiversity and Airline BOMbing targets.
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