OU bomber had huge explosive stash; Mystery remains over suicide outside Sooners game

World Net Daily ^ | 10/3/05

[hispanarepublicana]

© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com Local and federal agents were carting away what was described as a huge cache of explosives from the apartment of the 21-year-old student who blew himself up outside the stadium where 84,000 watched a Sooners football game.

Joel Henry Hinrichs III, 21, a junior from Colorado Springs, Colo., died in the explosion, according to FBI officials.

Investigators believe Hinrichs detonated a bomb about 8 p.m. Saturday, just 100 yards away from the packed football stadium.

Police were overheard telling residents it would take "several trips and could take up to 24 hours" to remove it all, according to the Daily Oklahoman.

A canister trailer used for detonating or transporting potentially explosive material was being used to haul items away.

Officials said Hinrichs' motive for blowing himself up Saturday near the Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium during the second quarter of OU's game against Kansas State remains under investigation.

OU President David Boren said Hinrichs was a student "who had very, serious personal problems that led to this tragic death."

Because of what happened, Boren said, the FBI had taken over the investigation.

Boren said the student had explosives strapped to his body.

Investigators would not say whether they believe Hinrichs intended to go inside the stadium before the detonation happened.

[hispanarepublicana]

Did y'all ever see this?

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This story was printed from The OU Daily.
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An OUDPS van sits behind the apartment where Sarah Tolin was found dead Monday morning. -Kyle Nosal/The Daily

OU student found dead Monday
The senior was found at her apartment
on Stinson

SCOOBY AXSON, KENDAL KELLY AND SARAH WALDROP - DAILY STAFF WRITERS
March 08, 2005 The OU Department of Public Safety is investigating the death of an OU student who was found dead Monday at her apartment. Sarah Dawn Tolin, arts and sciences senior, lived in Apartment C at 606 Stinson Drive in the Parkview Apartments, OUDPS Sgt. Gary Robinson said.

Although the police had not determined the cause of death as of 5 p.m. Monday, they are investigating it as a potential homicide or suicide, Cleveland County District Attorney Tim Kuykendall said.

Robinson said the police will release more information about the cause of death when the medical examiner's investigation is complete.

OUDPS directed requests for information to the Office for Student Affairs.

"When any investigation is going on, we just don't have that information," said Clarke Stroud, vice president for Student Affairs.
OU President David L. Boren said in a press release that Tolin will be missed.

"The entire University of Oklahoma family was saddened by the tragic death of Sarah Tolin," Boren said in a press release. "She was widely loved in the OU and Norman community. She excelled both as a student and an athlete. She will be remembered most of all for her kindness and for her concern for others. The university extends our sincere sympathy to her parents, family and friends."

Catherine Bishop, vice president for Public Affairs, said Tolin was a wrestler in high school.

Neighbors said they heard sirens and saw police cars pull in to building 606 of Parkview Apartments at about 1 a.m. Monday.
"When we looked across, a police car went in, and then two more police cars went in with lights on," said Alex Chen, a mechanical engineering sophomore who lives in Parkview Apartments across the street from the Tolin's building.

Ben Johnson, an international studies and Russian senior who lives next door to her building, said the student shared the apartment with a man.

People who live in Parkview said the complex usually seems safe and is filled with families and OU students.
"This is a pretty quiet apartment complex," said Mike Boyd, an anthropology senior who lives next door to Tolin's building.

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© 2005 The OU Daily

[PhiKapMom]

I have no idea what the matches were for. I thought used little flags for such things. Whatever it was, they were still there (used by the way) Sunday afternoon.

[PhiKapMom]

I don't remember hearing about that at the time. If it was in the Norman Transcript I sure didn't notice and I always read the front cover -- just don't read the editorial page.

First I heard about it was when this story came out.

[PhiKapMom]

I think the same thing and from the media I have heard speak it looks like they are not buying the spin either. What I am scared of is how many more of these types are around here.

[pepperdog]

Not ONE word on the channel 9 ten o'clock news about a roommate! Only an interview with the deceased's father who talked about what a bright boy his son was and how he made explosive things since he was very young. He also said his son had definitely committed suicide and had done it in such a manner as to be sure not to hurt others---extremely strange interview, but I felt sorry for the dad. So did anyone else hear anything about a roomie? Things seem to kind of come and go in this story. Are you sure you were on channel 9 when you heard about the roommate?

[The_Media_never_lie]

They padlocked the gates? All of them? That is creepy! And dangerous! What if people had paniced after hearing the bomb go off or after the word spread that it WAS a bomb? Total mass hysteria.

Padlocking the gates at a large public function, if done, was an incredibly dumb thing to do.

[Samwise]

The very least of the laws they broke were the fire codes. Lockdowns in general bother me. The schools rehearse them for Columbine-type incidents. At least the school has windows for escape. But to lock down a stadium...that's insane.

[hispanarepublicana]

Apparently, this Tolin girl in the article hung herself after she and her boyfriend (I think he was a live-in) had a bad argument the night before.
At the VERY LEAST, that apartment complex could use a priest with some holy water strolling through it, it sounds like......

[indcons]

I saw this story. Same apartment, I see. However, I am not sure if it had anything to do with our man. Could be/could not be.....I am not sure.

[blu]

It's good that certain crowded venues have bag checks

It's even better when those bag checks are thorough. I got into a major DC tourist attraction in May of 03 with a swiss army knife in my purse. Guess the baby baseball bat the guard swirled in there wasn't set to "knife".

[PhiKapMom]

I had no idea until I saw that tape and now I am livid. That is too dangerous with 84,000+ people to lock us in and we had no info after the explosion. If some lady hadn't gotten her phone call in the middle of the 4th quarter, we would have known nothing as the radio stations the guys behind us were listening to had zero, zip, nada.

[indcons]

At the VERY LEAST, that apartment complex could use a priest with some holy water strolling through it, it sounds like......

Hard for anybody to disagree with that statement!!

[PhiKapMom]

I have a student directory and it is also on line. Know some people trying to find out his name.

[PhiKapMom]

I sat here stunned at the whole report especially when they said it could take months to get the body released and to determine if it was an accident or suicide not to mention having to do DNA to determine it was him.

[indcons]

Yup.....the next few day will be interesting.

[PhiKapMom]

It sure wouldn't hurt -- wouldn't live there if they paid me.

[indcons]

The Paki roomie part will be a definite clue (if it is confirmed). BTW, the Paki guy's name may not come up in the student directory because off-campus addresses are rarely collected by university authorities. Am I correct in my assumption?

[indcons]

LOL

[milford421]

I hate to ask you this, but you've been the one from the start with the accurate info.

Do you have any links to: Pakistani room mate who is missing. Link for the photo of gates locked. Updated story of the amount of explosives.

Thanks.

[pepperdog]

Did you see my #185 to MizSterious, she said she saw this info on the Paki on the Channel 9 news, the 6 o'clock I would guess. I watched the 10 o'clock and there wasn't even one mention of the word roommate, let alone a roommate to the kid. I don't doubt MizSterious heard what she heard, but what has happened to it, is it another revision by the __________ (media, govt, university, take your pick)? I hope some others heard what MizSerious heard, it is very strange that such an important thing would be wrongly reported, yet what happened to it?