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OU student left suicide message
The Oklahoman ^ | Sun October 16, 2005 | Nolan Clay

Posted on 10/16/2005 11:02:43 AM PDT by MizSterious

Sun October 16, 2005
OU student left suicide message

By Nolan Clay
The Oklahoman

NORMAN - The University of Oklahoma student who died in an explosion Oct. 1 left a message on his computer that he was going to quit living, his father said.

The FBI read the message to the father Friday, after he came to Oklahoma to clear out his son's university-owned apartment.

Joel "Joe" Henry Hinrichs III, an engineering student, died when his bomb went off about 100 yards from the packed football stadium during the second quarter of OU's night game against Kansas State.

Hinrichs, 21, was from Colorado Springs, Colo. He had a reputation as a loner and had struggled at times with his grades. His parents had begun divorce proceedings.

Joel Hinrichs Jr. said he understood investigators found the message on the computer screen when they arrived at the apartment.

"It was a single line of text on his computer," said the father, who lives in Colorado Springs. "The cursor was still blinking at the end."

The father said he could not recall the exact wording but said his son used profanity in the message and was obviously very angry. "He wrote he was dissatisfied with the situation and was going to quit living," the father said.

His description of the message is consistent with the recollection of others who have been briefed about the investigation by the FBI.

No links to terrorist groups

FBI officials have said they may never know whether the student wanted to get inside the stadium. The student did not have a season ticket.

FBI officials also have said the investigation has not found any links between the student and terrorist organizations.

His father said he thinks his son was just committing suicide and never intended to hurt anyone else.

The father said the FBI on Friday showed him the fractured bench where his son was sitting when the bomb exploded and photos of his son's headless body and a tattered backpack.

The father said when cleaning out the apartment, he learned his son apparently had been having trouble sleeping and had bought Sominex, a sleep aid.

The younger Hinrichs had a long fascination with ammunition and bombs, his relatives and friends said. Inside his bedroom in Norman were several used metal artillery shells -- the largest about 2 feet long. He had belts of used brass shell casings, a box of spent bullets and military ammo containers.

He also had items more typical of many college students -- textbooks, empty liquor bottles, magazines and a martial arts movie videotape.

The father allowed two reporters from The Oklahoman into the bedroom briefly Thursday.

Bomb experts removed explosive-related materials from the apartment Oct. 2. Contributing: Randy Ellis


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Extended News; News/Current Events; US: Oklahoma
KEYWORDS: batf; bomb; cia; fakesuicidenote; fbi; hinrichs; homelandsecurity; normanbombing; normanbomer; ou; oubomber; oubombing; waronterror
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To: i_dont_chat

It sort of does, not the big white blinking one that DOS used to have. Maybe that's what they were talking about.


61 posted on 10/16/2005 11:51:23 AM PDT by MizSterious (Now, if only we could convince them all to put on their bomb-vests and meet in Mecca...)
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To: MizSterious
I watched Heartland with John Kasick (sp) last night. He had the brother of Joel on and an OK congress critter on. The brother said Joel did not believe in GOD and had been picked on at school all his life. The congress critter said the FBI assured him is was a suicide, not anything else.

I felt John was a little short on information for the show and was knocking the Internet way to much.
62 posted on 10/16/2005 11:52:19 AM PDT by Yellow Rose of Texas (WAR: 1/3 yes, 1/3 no, 1/3 undecided; So began the American Revolution)
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Comment #63 Removed by Moderator

To: Yellow Rose of Texas

I heard they never once mentioned the words "ammonium nitrate" either. (Order up another batch of that whitewash!)


64 posted on 10/16/2005 11:55:00 AM PDT by MizSterious (Now, if only we could convince them all to put on their bomb-vests and meet in Mecca...)
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To: Yellow Rose of Texas

Isn't Kasich an old buddy of Gary Condidit, Senate Intel committee, same as the university president? Circle seems pretty tight.


65 posted on 10/16/2005 11:55:19 AM PDT by Eastbound
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To: brytlea
I don't know all the ins and outs of computers

Same here, but can't those "computer forensics" people look at the hard drive and at least determine when the message was written, and if the computer's clock had been tampered with?

As another poster noted above, I recall that the spokespeople at the time said that there was no suicide note. Time to put on our "google goggles" and have a look!
66 posted on 10/16/2005 11:55:42 AM PDT by hummingbird (21st Century Newsreporting - "Don't get me started!")
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To: MizSterious
In the name of Allah, "someone has to kill the (bleeping) infidels, and I'm going to blow myself up and take a bunch of them with me." ;-)

The blinking cursor makes no sense to me. We're to assume he left the message on a live screen without saving or printing? BS
67 posted on 10/16/2005 11:55:50 AM PDT by maggief
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To: BlessedByLiberty

I would have thought that the computer would have been in the possession of criminal investigators as a result of his public demolition (which resulted in his death) and his attempts to buy "explosives" (through ebay and in person at a fertilizer store).

But I guess they left it turned on in the home.

Also it is possible to hit the backpace key and remove text that may be incriminating. "The message said this". Well is that ALL he typed?

If you look at Charles Bishop/Bishra's note, the word "terrorist" has been crossed out in "terrorist act I am about to commit". I'm not willing to believe without a doubt that he is the one who crossed that word out. He had only begun writing his letter. I would have started over if I made an editorial decision so early into say a love letter (or something equally emotional/high profile).


68 posted on 10/16/2005 11:57:11 AM PDT by weegee (The lesson from New Orleans? Smart Growth kills. You can't evacuate dense populations easily.)
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To: Yellow Rose of Texas

I saw that too (mentioned it in another thread). I thought John did one of the worst interviews EVER. Asked no tough questions. Just let these two say their piece, and then yes, knocked the bloggers, and said he wanted to put this story to rest (or to bed).


69 posted on 10/16/2005 11:58:46 AM PDT by brytlea (I'm not a conspiracty theorist....really.)
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To: F15Eagle
tinfoil aside, was this in Notepad, Wordpad, MS Word, was it at a DOS-prompt?

Hi, F15Eagle, now I have to do an experiment. When my computer is left unattended for a period of time, it goes black. One can change the length of time before it puts the monitor in standby, but I guess we would need to know more about whether they are saying they went to the computer and it was black and they moved the mouse and that is what came up (maybe) of if they saw it when they first got to his apartment (probably not).
70 posted on 10/16/2005 12:00:12 PM PDT by hummingbird (21st Century Newsreporting - "Don't get me started!")
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To: hummingbird

I thought maybe they could tell when it was written, but I'm not positive.
I wonder what color google goggles go with my nice tinfoil hate?? ;)
susie


71 posted on 10/16/2005 12:00:22 PM PDT by brytlea (I'm not a conspiracty theorist....really.)
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To: brytlea

Oh, silver, I'm sure. Or red. Great for google goggle ogling.


72 posted on 10/16/2005 12:02:00 PM PDT by MizSterious (Now, if only we could convince them all to put on their bomb-vests and meet in Mecca...)
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To: MizSterious

How utterly convenient. If this was found as soon as the LEOs entered the apartment, then why all this time have they said "no suicide note".


73 posted on 10/16/2005 12:02:05 PM PDT by hispanarepublicana (No amnesty needed...My ancestors proudly served. [remodel of an old '70s bumper sticker])
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To: brytlea

ooops....hate should be hat!
susie


74 posted on 10/16/2005 12:02:06 PM PDT by brytlea (I'm not a conspiracty theorist....really.)
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To: TWohlford

Yes.....it's a shame that an "isolated suicide" took the one young man who was going to tell us all how to grow several hundred acres worth of corn in a 2 bedroom apartment (that's the only other use I know of for ammonium nitrate).


75 posted on 10/16/2005 12:03:17 PM PDT by hispanarepublicana (No amnesty needed...My ancestors proudly served. [remodel of an old '70s bumper sticker])
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To: hummingbird
Same here, but can't those "computer forensics" people look at the hard drive and at least determine when the message was written, and if the computer's clock had been tampered with?

If it was Word, there is an autosave feature (may not have been on) that keept some of a draft. Does it rewrite the file even if there are no changes?

There are all sorts of details that are stored (including last accessed documents) and recent web cache.

Everyone leaves a virtual paper trail of their thoughts now.

76 posted on 10/16/2005 12:03:22 PM PDT by weegee (The lesson from New Orleans? Smart Growth kills. You can't evacuate dense populations easily.)
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To: MizSterious

Or Microsoft Word?


77 posted on 10/16/2005 12:04:04 PM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: hispanarepublicana

Well, Kasich said it last night--it's time to put this story to bed, as far as the PTB are concerned, and now it appears they're trying to tie up a lot of loose ends. They still haven't explained, though, just how that roommate lived in that small apartment and never had a clue that all that stuff he kept stumbling over and into were explosives. You think he really believed it was Avon?


78 posted on 10/16/2005 12:04:43 PM PDT by MizSterious (Now, if only we could convince them all to put on their bomb-vests and meet in Mecca...)
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To: BlessedByLiberty
Unless, of course, one believes that a typical American youth would commit suicide by sitting outside a stadium with explosives in a backpack and not with guns, knives, pills, bridge jumping or a car crash.

The two kids at the school in Colorado had bombs set up that did not go off.

79 posted on 10/16/2005 12:05:21 PM PDT by Yellow Rose of Texas (WAR: 1/3 yes, 1/3 no, 1/3 undecided; So began the American Revolution)
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To: Yellow Rose of Texas

Were they wearing them?


80 posted on 10/16/2005 12:06:50 PM PDT by MizSterious (Now, if only we could convince them all to put on their bomb-vests and meet in Mecca...)
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