Ted Kaczynski, the man more commonly known as the “Unabomber,” died Saturday by suicide, sources say.
Four sources familiar with the matter revealed to the Associated Press 81-year-old Kaczynski, who was suffering from late-stage cancer, died by his own hand in his North Carolina federal prison cell just after midnight Saturday. Though emergency personnel successfully revived the notorious criminal after performing CPR, Kaczynski died after being transported to a local hospital, the sources — who were not authorized to speak publicly about Kaczynski’s death — told the AP.
BREAKING: Ted Kaczynski, known as the “Unabomber,” who carried out a 17-year bombing campaign that killed three people and injured 23 others, died by suicide in prison, four people familiar with the matter told @AP. https://t.co/7Ae1RbMyLt
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 11, 2023
Kazynski, a self-proclaimed environmentalist, had been serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole since his arrest and conviction in 1996. Between 1978 and 1995, Kaczynski mailed or hand delivered a series of bombs which ultimately killed three Americans and injured nearly two dozen more. His campaign of terror earned him the moniker, “The Unabomber,” as authorities worked for nearly two decades to bring him to justice. (RELATED: Michigan Professor: Unabomber Ted Kaczynski ‘Potentially A Kind Of Savior)
A break came in 1995 when Kaczynski, under the guise of the Unabomber, sent out a 35,000 word essay explaining the motives behind his attacks, according to the FBI. Then-FBI Director Louis Freeh and Attorney General Janet Reno opted to publish the manifesto in the hope someone could identify the author. Thousands of tips were provided to authorities, offering up multiple suspects after its publication, but one suspect stood out above the rest — Ted Kaczynski — who was offered up as a suspect by his brother David, the FBI revealed.
David provided authorities with letters and documents written by his brother which helped them determine Ted Kazynski and the author of the 35,000 word manifesto purported to have been authored by the Unabomber were one and the same. When authorities finally closed in on Kaczynski they found him in a humble cabin in Montana surrounded by a score of bomb-making components, hand-written journals, explosive experiments and one live bomb waiting to be mailed, the FBI stated.
Kaczynski ultimately pleaded guilty to the bombing campaign and was sentenced to life in a Colorado federal prison. In 2021, Kaczynski was transferred to North Carolina as its facility is equipped to treat patients who are suffering from serious health issues, the AP reported.