I can't find anything online about this case - am I going nuts? Maybe I'm not looking in the right place. Any updates or info on this case?

I can't find anything online about this case - am I going nuts? Maybe I'm not looking in the right place. Any updates or info on this case?

I found an article related to the case, but it's dated June 21, 1996 (less than a year before the case was shown on UM).

http://www.cnn.com/US/9606/21/zip.gun.bomber/

There might be other links related to the case, but it will probably require some digging.

I found an article related to the case, but it's dated June 21, 1996 (less than a year before the case was shown on UM).

http://www.cnn.com/US/9606/21/zip.gun.bomber/

There might be other links related to the case, but it will probably require some digging.

Here is a short blog article on this cold case from Feb 2010 in the NY Times. There have been no new bombings since 1996 and really no leads in the case. It has been 28 years since the first zip gun bomb in 1982.

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/25/perseverance-in-a-hunt-for-a-tricky-bomber/#more-138311

Also, I found this longer article from 2002 which goes over the investigation in detail; however, this is still a cold case. The UM segment did not mention any suspects; however, the article suggests that Craig Kipp was a primary suspect. Another suspect was Steven Wavra.

Read the article for more details.

http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2002/05/20/2002-05-20_tracing_new_leads_to_zip_gun.html

The lack of info and discussion on this case has always puzzled me.

This is arguable one of the more scarier UM segments ever done.

Not to mention this might be one of the most dangerous criminals UM has profiled. :mad:

This case should have as much profile as the Tylenol cyanide poisinings.

This is one of the rare cases...where anyone on this board could potentially have been a victim of this nutcase.

The lack of info and discussion on this case has always puzzled me.

This is arguable one of the more scarier UM segments ever done.

Not to mention this might be one of the most dangerous criminals UM has profiled. :mad:

This case should have as much profile as the Tylenol cyanide poisinings.

This is one of the rare cases...where anyone on this board could potentially have been a victim of this nutcase.


I'm also suprised that this case gets little discussion on this board.
This is one of the UM segments from my childhood and I remember how much it scared me at the time.
This person has yet to be caught and as Mastermind said he mail his death packages to random people.
Would like to see an update to this on the UM reruns.

The real question is why this killer stopped suddenly and why they started in the first place. They must have some relation to Joan Kipp, unless the killer made up addresses randomly.

This was always such a creepy case.

The real question is why this killer stopped suddenly and why they started in the first place. They must have some relation to Joan Kipp, unless the killer made up addresses randomly.

This was always such a creepy case.

I always got a little bit of a Unabomber copycat type vibe from this one.

It IS totally strange how they just began, and then just stopped.

Maybe the person died sometime around 1996 or a year or 2 later

It's an interesting angle. I'd think there are easier ways to establish one's innocence than trying to turn killing one's wife into trying to make the killer look like a serial killer, but people are also crazy.

It's an interesting angle. I'd think there are easier ways to establish one's innocence than trying to turn killing one's wife into trying to make the killer look like a serial killer, but people are also crazy.

The thing is, the bomber went dark for over a decade after the initial package was sent. Then bam! Four of them in a three year period. Then nothing else ever again. I seriously doubt it was Joan Kipp's husband. In fact, I don't think it was anybody close to her at all. I truly believe all of these attacks were just flat out random. The only connection the victims had was that they all lived in NYC, but so do nearly 10 million other people. There was absolutely nothing else connecting them in any way.

Perhaps all of the media attention that the 90s bombings started to garner scared the bomber off from sending any more packages.

The thing is, the bomber went dark for over a decade after the initial package was sent. Then bam! Four of them in a three year period. Then nothing else ever again. I seriously doubt it was Joan Kipp's husband. In fact, I don't think it was anybody close to her at all. I truly believe all of these attacks were just flat out random. The only connection the victims had was that they all lived in NYC, but so do nearly 10 million other people. There was absolutely nothing else connecting them in any way.

According to this (http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/tracing-new-leads-zip-gun-bomber-cops-eye-links-victim-family-article-1.485282), there actually was something connecting the intended victims: all the victims had links to civil service or the military. All the victims were in the NYC area, and the gap in bombings can easily be explained:


Cops working on an unrelated case in 1983 stumbled on a hollowed-out book and bomb-making equipment on the kitchen table in the apartment of [Steve] Wavra and his pal. Wavra said his roommate "had no knowledge of what I was doing with it, and I did not tell anyone. I was using it, or was yet to use it, in another crime, not through the mail, but on a U.S. military base."

Wavra admits he was building a book bomb to use on a military base in 1983. This explains the gap in bombings after 1982: Wavra had been caught red-handed in 1983. Wavra being the bomber would also explain why there were no more bombings after the mid-1990s: he was in federal prison.

According to this (http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/tracing-new-leads-zip-gun-bomber-cops-eye-links-victim-family-article-1.485282), there actually was something connecting the intended victims: all the victims had links to civil service or the military. All the victims were in the NYC area, and the gap in bombings can easily be explained:



Wavra admits he was building a book bomb to use on a military base in 1983. This explains the gap in bombings after 1982: Wavra had been caught red-handed in 1983. Wavra being the bomber would also explain why there were no more bombings after the mid-1990s: he was in federal prison.

Yeah in my opinion, Steve Wavra seems the most likely. He also knew Joan Kipp. "Joan Kipp was his guidance counselor at Dyker Heights Junior High School, where he had been left back twice, he said."

Yeah in my opinion, Steve Wavra seems the most likely. He also knew Joan Kipp. "Joan Kipp was his guidance counselor at Dyker Heights Junior High School, where he had been left back twice, he said."

In a separate matter, I was just informed of some research that has been done on the effects of "holding children back" in school. Essentially, the research has shown if a school holds a child back, they are all but guaranteeing the student will eventually drop out.

I never thought about that before--thought it was interesting. I don't know if there is a link to criminal activity later in life, but I could certainly see being held back as a motive for a murder....

Yeah in my opinion, Steve Wavra seems the most likely. He also knew Joan Kipp. "Joan Kipp was his guidance counselor at Dyker Heights Junior High School, where he had been left back twice, he said."

And as CRicci says, and I agree, that's motive. So he had the motive, he had the means (he had already been caught by law enforcement building book bombs), and he had the opportunity. Seems like a slam-dunk case.

Whenever I see this thread all I think about is the T Rex song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fqe8u0ESEwk

According to this (/archives/news/tracing-new-leads-zip-gun-bomber-cops-eye-links-victim-family-article-1.485282), there actually was something connecting the intended victims: all the victims had links to civil service or the military. All the victims were in the NYC area, and the gap in bombings can easily be explained:



Wavra admits he was building a book bomb to use on a military base in 1983. This explains the gap in bombings after 1982: Wavra had been caught red-handed in 1983. Wavra being the bomber would also explain why there were no more bombings after the mid-1990s: he was in federal prison.


Yeah in my opinion, Steve Wavra seems the most likely. He also knew Joan Kipp. "Joan Kipp was his guidance counselor at Dyker Heights Junior High School, where he had been left back twice, he said."


Saw this one for the first time today and am too mystified at the lack of discussion on it. It's also the second one I've seen from Season 9 that seems to be a slam dunk, but authorities just can't charge the most likely perp for one reason or another.

One bit that I haven't seen pop up here though - the UM Wiki entry says Wavra was incarcerated at the time Joan was murdered. I would assume then if the consesus has him being responsible, that he had a friend build/mail that one??

http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Zip_Gun_Bomber

Sounds like Steve Wavra and his roommate are the ones behind the zip gun bombings, but are they? Sometimes connections are made because we want to believe there is a connection when there isn’t. Yes, Steve is connected to Joan Kipp, but not to any of the other victims. We can “connect” his unnamed roommate through pharmacies that were shared with the victims. Sure it is a connection, but not as direct/solid as Steve to Joan unless we are missing something (which we are, Steve’s roommate has never been named).

I think it is possible that Steve had his roommate mail the first bomb to Joan, with a personal note and then ten years later the bombs sent out were done by a copycat to random addresses and LE really had to search hard to find the pharmacy connection from Steve’s roommate. Mailing medallions instead of a book is a striking difference and why would you switch the MO to medallions instead of books?

Again, I have to wonder if there was any DNA from any of the bombs and if they have ever ran that DNA to compare it to a database.