Ted Kaczynski, “Unabomber,” dies in prison at 81
(NBC, KYMA/KECY) - The man known as "The Unabomber" died while serving four consecutive life sentences, decades after his reign of terror gripped the nation.
Ted Kaczynski was found dead in his prison cell Saturday, according to the Bureau of Prisons. He was 81.
Kaczynski, who was convicted for a series of bombings targeting scientists, was being held in a North Carolina facility after being transferred in 2021 from a maximum security Colorado prison due to his declining health.
A cause of death was not released.
Cat and mouse
Ted Kaczynski, the one-time mathematics prodigy, became infamous for eluding authorities. The only clue to his identity was a sketch made after a witness saw him planting a bomb.
Kaczynski played a deadly cat and mouse game with the FBI in a nationwide bombing campaign that stretched 17 years, becoming one of the bureau's longest and most expensive investigations ever.
"The FBI, the other agencies involved, are working with as much diligence as I've ever seen on an investigation," said Janet Reno, former Attorney General.
His first homemade bomb detonated in 1978 at Northwestern University, injuring a security guard.
"Twisted genius"
The FBI would dub him a "twisted genius" for mailing or hand delivering 15 more bombs over the years.
His devices killed three and injured nearly two dozen more, all while puzzling investigators for leaving behind no traceable evidence.
In 1995, The Unabomber Task Force asked newspapers to publish a manifesto Kaczynski mailed them, hoping it would generate new leads.
The bureau caught a lead when David Kaczynski, Kaczynski's brother, recognized the thinking of his brother and reported him to the FBI.
"It wouldn't have been right to allow him to hurt anyone else, he had to be stopped in some way and that was the only thing I could think to stop him," David said.
1996 arrest
On April 3, 1996, investigators arrested Kaczynski at his tiny cabin, near Lincoln, Montana. There, they found journals detailing his crimes, just $32.80 to his name, and something else.
"Federal agents have turned up a live bomb at the home of the man the government believes is the unabomber," said Brian Williams, former NBC Nightly News anchor.
Kaczynski's campaign of fear was finally over.
In 1998, two years after his arrest, a reporter asked Kaczynski if he was "The Unabomber," he said he was.
After that, he plead guilty and spent the rest of his life in prison until his death on Saturday.
