Bomb suspect turns self in
Posted on 11/11/2002 5:37:56 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
Bomb suspect turns self in
Dallas victim's half brother arrested after 'Most Wanted' episode
11/11/2002
A man wanted in the July pipe bombing that nearly killed his Dallas half brother turned himself in after America's Most Wanted profiled the case on TV, a federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms spokesman said.
Prescott W. "Scott" Sigmund, 35, who disappeared three days after the explosion in a Washington, D.C., parking garage, walked into a police station in Missoula, Mont., shortly before 11 p.m. Dallas time Saturday after the broadcast aired, said ATF Agent Harold Scott Jr.
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"He's going for his initial appearance before a federal magistrate early Tuesday," Agent Scott said. "At that time, he'll be placed in federal custody."
Federal authorities issued an arrest warrant last month for Mr. Sigmund, charging him with interstate transportation of an explosive device with the intent to harm someone. Mr. Sigmund lived in suburban Maryland with his wife and two young children before he disappeared.
Agent Scott said District of Columbia authorities may lodge other charges against Mr. Sigmund once he is returned to Washington.
Mr. Sigmund's half brother, Wright Sigmund, 21, was critically injured July 12 when he started a sport utility vehicle belonging to their father, Washington insurance broker Donald Sigmund, and two explosive devices detonated under the driver's seat.
Wright Sigmund, who suffered life-threatening burns and wounds to his lower body, returned to Dallas in October after two months of treatment in a Washington hospital. He grew up in Dallas after his mother, Claire Phillips, divorced Donald Sigmund in 1983.
A sense of relief
The former St. Mark's School of Texas wrestling standout said he was relieved that his half brother was in custody.
"This happening today makes me feel more secure," said Wright Sigmund, who underwent surgery last week at Parkland Memorial Hospital to allow more movement of his legs. "I don't have to worry that there might be somebody out there who wants to hurt me."
JUAN GARCIA / DMN At a news conference at his mother's North Dallas home, Wright Sigmund said he wanted to ask his brother: "Why did you do this? How could you do something so reckless?" |
Wright Sigmund, who was to start his senior year at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Va., this fall, said he had several questions for Scott Sigmund.
"Why did you do this? How could you do something so reckless?" Wright Sigmund said Sunday at his mother's North Dallas home. "He's hurt me. He's changed my life, and he should get the penalty he deserves."
Scott Sigmund disappeared July 15 after telling investigators he would take a lie-detector test. Family members said they subsequently learned he had lost his job as a salesman, run up debts, argued with his father over money and taken money from his wife's retirement account.
His wife, Bradey Bulk Sigmund, who has filed for divorce, told America's Most Wanted that Scott Sigmund had once said he would inherit $300,000 if his father died.
Investigators have theorized that the pipe bomb was intended for Donald Sigmund, who kept the SUV in the underground garage of his Washington office building.
A Montana motel clerk
Agent Scott credited the Fox television show for flushing out the fugitive, who had been living in Montana under an assumed name.
Wright Sigmund and his mother said they were told by authorities that Scott Sigmund had been working as a motel clerk in Missoula.
A spokesman said Missoula police could release no details in the case and referred calls to the ATF.
A Comfort Inn employee said that Scott Sigmund had worked as a desk clerk at the motel in Missoula, using the alias Paul Nott.
The employee, who declined to give his name, said that Mr. Sigmund worked there for about two months.
Mr. Sigmund's wife told The Washington Post that the U.S. attorney's office and the ATF told her the news.
"They said he saw me [on TV] and decided to surrender," she said. "I lost a good 25 pounds through this ordeal and feel and look haggard and older. And my physical appearance may have struck something in him."
Mrs. Phillips said she had mixed emotions about Scott Sigmund's turning himself in to authorities.
"I can't say this is a happy day, but it is a good day," she said. "There's a sense of relief. At the same time, there is an ugliness to all of this that has really destroyed the family.
"In my mind, I don't think that makes him a better person, that he turned himself in."
Richard Whittle reported from Washington. Ian McCann reported from Dallas.
E-mail rwhittle@dallasnews.com and imccann@dallasnews.com
Were they whole brothers before the murder?
A little sick...but funny!
Was there a murder? I thought the brother was only injured or is that picture an illusion? If so, that probably keeps them at 3/4 brothers.
I think he should be arrested for taking such a bad picture.
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