Analysis of the UNABOM Investigation

The purpose of this document is to explore the aspects of the UNABOM investigation in search of the key factors that contributed to Theodore J. Kaczynski’s ability to evade capture from law enforcement for 17 years. Kaczynski, the Unabomber, was a serial bomber, domestic terrorist, intellectual, mathematician, ersatz philosopher, and published author-by-extortion of the late twentieth century. His actions resulted in the deaths of three individuals and injured twenty-three others. As such, the Federal Bureau of Investigation launched a full-scale manhunt over the span of almost two decades to catch Kaczynski. This paper analyzes the factors that allowed for Kaczynski to avoid detection through a multi-step process of first listing off the chronological timeline of events in Kaczynski’s life, then examining his three major bombings that resulted in fatalities, using results/concepts from forensic linguistics to identify key information that might allude to his ability to avoid detection, and conducting a overall analysis of the societal, economical, technological, and law enforcement capabilities of the late 20th century. This present-day look into Kaczynski’s reign of terror will not only unveil any trends, factors, and methodologies used in his crimes, but it will most importantly signify that if Kaczynski’s actions were to be repeated in the exact manner today, the manhunt would take just as long and be equally as tragic as it was three decades ago. The end goal is to reveal that the only factor that allowed Kaczynski to evade capture for as long as he did was Kaczynski himself.