Here's a link to the 'Accused' podcasts & transcripts of them (Bocks' case has played out over 6 episodes so far)

https://www.cincinnati.com/in-depth/accused/2020/01/14/accused-podcast-david-bocks-fernald-ohio-episode-6/4456616002/

Not surprisingly, they went with the whistleblower theory

"Maybe Alderucci is right, and there's no way that this could have happened, but I’m stumped as to why he dismissed the insistence of longtime Fernald workers who said they not only thought it was doable, but they’re sure that it happened.

Not only that, but several told us they’re certain about more than the what; they’re even sure about the who."


Doesn't sound like they're finished yet (season 3 reportedly has 8 episodes planned, so there's two more to come), so this would be something to keep an eye on

No, not necessarily the whistleblower theory. There are other potential motives for murder that she's uncovered. But it's looking more and more like he was murdered by the supervisor who was in the car with him in the UM segment: Charlie Shouse. And Shouse's statements/actions after the fact certainly bolster that theory.

I honestly can't believe this hasn't been dominating the forum discussion.

Cheers,
Matt

I'm listening to "Accused" but I'm only a couple of episodes in so far. What I've heard is really good, though.

Before listening to this, I did not think it was a suicide. I just can't imagine anyone intentionally killing themselves in that horrible manner. After reading about it and listening to RobinW's "The Trail Went Cold" podcast, I seemed to have settled on the accidental death.

But this "Accused" podcast has me thinking differently now. I just finished the part where they discuss how it would be almost impossible to accidentally fall into that vat of molten material. It doesn't eliminate an accident, but it sure changes things quite a bit.

I can't wait to catch up on the rest of the episodes.

:thumbsup:

She does a great job of going through each potential scenario with an open mind and thorough research, and realistically discussing the possibility of each one. I have been thoroughly impressed. Not to mention it's just a riveting listen!

Cheers,
Matt

No, not necessarily the whistleblower theory. There are other potential motives for murder that she's uncovered. But it's looking more and more like he was murdered by the supervisor who was in the car with him in the UM segment: Charlie Shouse. And Shouse's statements/actions after the fact certainly bolster that theory.

I honestly can't believe this hasn't been dominating the forum discussion.

Cheers,
Matt

You'll have to go back to page 10 to see the last time murder was discussed, but again, that was in the context of Bocks being a supposed whistleblower.

Of the other potential motives presented in the latest "Accused" episode--Bocks ratting out some co-workers for slacking (sleeping on the job) or stumbling upon drug-dealing..........I'd go with the former as being the most credible.

Of the other potential motives presented in the latest "Accused" episode--Bocks ratting out some co-workers for slacking (sleeping on the job) or stumbling upon drug-dealing..........I'd go with the former as being the most credible.

Agreed. A pipefitter threatening to go public with info about the plant (that, as it turns out, was already public knowledge anyway), with none of his other low-level coworkers knowing about it, always seemed completely unrealistic. But someone being pissed that Dave got them suspended, an altercation getting out of hand, a manager covering it up...these are things I can believe.

Cheers,
Matt

Also, the fact that it's just now coming out that Bocks got a co-worker suspended shortly before his death is AMAZING to me.

Cheers,
Matt

Agreed. A pipefitter threatening to go public with info about the plant (that, as it turns out, was already public knowledge anyway), with none of his other low-level coworkers knowing about it, always seemed completely unrealistic.

WHAT?!? Do you doubt DC Cole??? :lol::lol::lol:

Hard to believe, I know. ;)

Cheers,
Matt

Also, the fact that it's just now coming out that Bocks got a co-worker suspended shortly before his death is AMAZING to me.

I personally think that it's irrelevant to the story, because Dave Bocks was assigned to work in a different plant than the one he was last seen walking towards in the early morning hours before his death. I don't know how this suspended coworker would have known where to find him to do him harm. UM also mentioned that there was security that worked during the overnight shifts.

WHAT?!? Do you doubt DC Cole??? :lol::lol::lol:

I kind of admire the courage it took to appear on TV when you are that visibly in need of serious dental work. :grady:

Thanks to The Accused podcast, I am now a proud member of the D.C. Cole Fan Club.

My t-shirt came in the mail just the other day.

I posted a gif on the Dave Bocks case last night. I thought it was interesting.

This podcast was done so well. I am always happy when family members participate in further productions.

I am convinced he was murdered, but not by his employer, as D.C. Cole purports (God rest his soul, he was truly an icon for the show).

I think it probably had to do with the coworker that was suspended. I do not believe (personal opinion) that Dave Bocks was informed enough to actually expose anything powerful. So many people in mid management come and go, either willfully or involuntarily. Someone with more details would have been more likely to expose information, than a pipefitter.

I stumbled upon this recent article about the Dave Bocks case. There is a ton of information in here that I wasn’t aware of and I’m not sure if it has been discussed yet on the board.

Several deaths occurred after Dave’s that his children believe may have been tied to his death/coverup of his death.

Dave has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and was a recovering alcoholic. It is due to this that the investigation was deemed a suicide. A claim that some of the investigators maintain to this day.

Our good buddy DC Cole passed away a few years back but in the years after the case aired, Dave’s kids came to believe he was a bit “out there”. He apparently had a personal axe to grind against NLO.

Dave had also reported a co-worker for sleeping on the job, which resulted in that co-worked being suspended shortly before Dave’s death.

The one thing that everyone seems to come back to is the keys and the wire that were found in the furnace. The keys can easily be explained away as being a second set of keys. In the article I linked below, it mentions that the furnace Dave’s body was found in was so hot that employees would throw things such as fruit in it to watch it get zapped immediately by the liquid. It’s not crazy to think that these same employees were throwing other things in there as well, such as that set of wiring.

It was a pretty good read.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cincinnati.com/amp/4931126002

I stumbled upon this recent article about the Dave Bocks case. There is a ton of information in here that I wasn’t aware of and I’m not sure if it has been discussed yet on the board.

Several deaths occurred after Dave’s that his children believe may have been tied to his death/coverup of his death.

Dave has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and was a recovering alcoholic. It is due to this that the investigation was deemed a suicide. A claim that some of the investigators maintain to this day.

Our good buddy DC Cole passed away a few years back but in the years after the case aired, Dave’s kids came to believe he was a bit “out there”. He apparently had a personal axe to grind against NLO.

Dave had also reported a co-worker for sleeping on the job, which resulted in that co-worked being suspended shortly before Dave’s death.

The one thing that everyone seems to come back to is the keys and the wire that were found in the furnace. The keys can easily be explained away as being a second set of keys. In the article I linked below, it mentions that the furnace Dave’s body was found in was so hot that employees would throw things such as fruit in it to watch it get zapped immediately by the liquid. It’s not crazy to think that these same employees were throwing other things in there as well, such as that set of wiring.

It was a pretty good read.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cincinnati.com/amp/4931126002

Thanks for the link Hambone, that was a very interesting read.

If it was suicide, Good Lord what an horrific way to die.

Thanks for sharing that article Hambone!

I can't help but wonder why the detective interviewed was adamant that the furnace was too hot for someone to approach it and put Dave's body inside, and that was why they ruled out foul play fairly quickly. If the furnace was too hot for a human to even approach it, how the hell did Dave commit suicide?

delete

Yeah, nevermind I think that this was a murder/cover-up. I think if anyone knows what happened to Dave that night then it was his manager, Charles Shouse. Not only was Dave last seen talking with Charles in a truck with the windows rolled up, but the article mentioned some interesting things the police report says.

According to the article the police report read:

"Shouse, meanwhile, said David seemed despondent. He said that he spotted David walking toward the NUSAL vat building before he was assigned his night's work; that David ate an extra sandwich at lunch, as though it could be his last meal, and that after the break, Shouse spent about 10 minutes trying to get David to "open up" through conversation, but his efforts failed.

It really seemed like Shouse tried to paint Dave's death as a suicide. Shouse said that he spent time talking to Dave trying to get him to "open up" but I wonder if that's true? They were seen talking in the truck, but I wonder if it was more of an argument that lead to murder?

Dave's co-worker and carpool buddy said something completely different:

" Easterling said David was quiet, but no more than usual; that despite being tired, he seemed plenty upbeat, and that David was with him nonstop before his shift began. "

It makes you wonder who was telling the truth. I don't know why Easterling would lie given the fact that they carpooled together that night, but Shouse lying makes more sense if he had something to hide. Shouse had also informed the police of the worker that Dave got suspended by reporting that he was sleeping on the job.

"Another apparent lead was back-burnered. Shouse told investigators that David's complaints led him to suspend a worker named Earnie Gipson for sleeping on the job. Gipson, who's described as a "troublemaker" in the file, was still suspended when David disappeared. A coworker thought he saw Gipson's motorcycle around midnight of the night in question, so police went to Gipson's house, saw that his motorcycle was inoperable and dismissed the lead altogether. They never asked for an alibi, checked to see if he had access to other transportation or questioned him regarding motive."

The guy who Dave got suspended was also seen as a suspect as another worker thought that he saw his motorcycle on the night of question, but since it was inoperable when police arrived they wrote him off as a suspect. The more I read about this case the more I'm convinced that Dave was murdered by someone who worked at that plant and that wireloop lured him down in the furnace

I can't help but wonder why the detective interviewed was adamant that the furnace was too hot for someone to approach it and put Dave's body inside, and that was why they ruled out foul play fairly quickly. If the furnace was too hot for a human to even approach it, how the hell did Dave commit suicide?

I think that the detective was being told to cover this case up and told to rule it as a suicide or accident, which is why he made the inconsistent statement about the furnace and ruled out foul play. It seems like the detective wrote off suspicious suspects and never asked any follow up questions. He also dismissed Dave's friend history of events. He was definitely not trying to solve this case and tried to rule it as a suicide as fast as possible. Something with this case smells cover up

"According to the files, police dismissed Easterling's version of events and embraced Shouse's. No one else in the files – not David's family or his friends or even his psychiatrist – believed David was suicidal. Shouse was never questioned for motive or asked to prove his whereabouts."

Thanks for sharing that article Hambone!

I can't help but wonder why the detective interviewed was adamant that the furnace was too hot for someone to approach it and put Dave's body inside, and that was why they ruled out foul play fairly quickly. If the furnace was too hot for a human to even approach it, how the hell did Dave commit suicide?

As goofy as it sounds, I got the impression that they thought (Or at least wanted people to think) he got a running start and dove head first into the fire.

As goofy as it sounds, I got the impression that they thought (Or at least wanted people to think) he got a running start and dove head first into the fire.

Good lord. What a way to go.

As goofy as it sounds, I got the impression that they thought (Or at least wanted people to think) he got a running start and dove head first into the fire.

Which is bizarre, because I don't think Dave could've fit through the opening of the vat. He would've had to remove the lid via a hoist and then jump in. I wonder if the NLO was putting pressure on the police to just wrap this case up as a suicide because they didn't want the media poking around?

"Typically, a heavy concrete lid more than 3 inches thick covered the vat unless it was in use. Even when not in use, a small opening remained, measuring 22¼ by 9 inches – essentially the size of two sheets of notebook paper taped together length-wise. That opening was largely useless, save for employees playfully tossing in apple cores and watermelon rind to watch the fruit explode in the lava-like temperature."

Which is bizarre, because I don't think Dave could've fit through the opening of the vat. He would've had to remove the lid via a hoist and then jump in. I wonder if the NLO was putting pressure on the police to just wrap this case up as a suicide because they didn't want the media poking around?

"Typically, a heavy concrete lid more than 3 inches thick covered the vat unless it was in use. Even when not in use, a small opening remained, measuring 22¼ by 9 inches – essentially the size of two sheets of notebook paper taped together length-wise. That opening was largely useless, save for employees playfully tossing in apple cores and watermelon rind to watch the fruit explode in the lava-like temperature."

Wait I thought the police were eluding to the furnace being too hot for anyone to get close to. Obviously it wasn't if the workers could get close enough to throw things down it. And of course Dave ended up in it. Seems his boss was trying awfully hard to lay the groundwork to move the investigation toward suicide. Only one reason I can think of for that would be to cover up his involvement in Dave's death/murder.

Wait I thought the police were eluding to the furnace being too hot for anyone to get close to. Obviously it wasn't if the workers could get close enough to throw things down it. And of course Dave ended up in it. Seems his boss was trying awfully hard to lay the groundwork to move the investigation toward suicide. Only one reason I can think of for that would be to cover up his involvement in Dave's death/murder.

Absolutely, his boss is very suspicious. Even the workers refuted the furnace being too hot for anyone to get close to

"Longtime employees dispute this memory. It was hot, yes, they said, but not unbearable. Easterling likened it to a sauna – uncomfortable, but certainly not fatal."

Thanks to The Accused podcast, I am now a proud member of the D.C. Cole Fan Club.

My t-shirt came in the mail just the other day.


That is awesome :lol:

I love his heather gray turtle neck (it may be a wool turtle neck in white or light cream but it appears to be a very light heather gray color.) I also noticed there is a thin vertical stain on the neck of the turtle neck (look directly below his right side of his chin).

D.C. Cole is one of the great characters interviewed on UM. Based on the Accused podcast, he is quite an eccentric fellow and not a great writer.

It's sad to learn that DC Cole has passed away. I wonder what exactly he did for a living. I know he was an investigative reporter, but it seems like he wrote mostly for free. Gigolo on the side?

I really don't see anyway this isn't a murder and body disposal situation. I have always been fascinated by this case, and I have always leaned towards murder. None of the evidence screamed suicide to me. I also just can't fathom why even someone despondent enough to want to kill themselves, would choose the method of wedging themselves thru a tight opening so they could fall into essentially 1,350 degree lava. If he did do it, it has to be one of if not the most unorthodox suicides you will ever see. None of its even remotely logical to me.

Him being murdered and then the body dumped? Very logical. I dont know if its some high level conspiracy; it may not have been. Perhaps he witnessed drug dealing. Maybe he pissed off the wrong person i.e that co-worker he ratted on for sleeping on the job. His manager at the very least knows more then he is telling. My gut tells me he was involved and no doubt had help from at least one other person. They had time to kill him, and dispose of the body before the next shift showed up to that plant.

Suicides are "illogical" to people who aren't suffering. There are other examples of suicides, such as this (https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-01-17-mn-118-story.html) one. Just because there are "easier" ways to commit suicide doesn't mean we should rule this one out solely because of that.

Suicides are "illogical" to people who aren't suffering. There are other examples of suicides, such as this (https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-01-17-mn-118-story.html) one. Just because there are "easier" ways to commit suicide doesn't mean we should rule this one out solely because of that.

Generally I would agree, but Dave's case has a few mysterious things surrounding it. First, he couldn't have fit into the opening of the furnace. He would've had to lift the lid off via a machine and then jump in, and if that's the case then who closed it behind him? The 3 way loop is a strong indicator that he was dumped into the furnace

Second, Dave's boss has said some weird things to try and make it seem like a suicide, which is sketchy because a co-worker said Dave and his boss were in a truck with the windows rolled up having a conversation. Would be interesting to know what they were talking about. I'm not sure how accurate the acting skits are but on the morning Dave's remains were identified when one worker told the boss to look at the weird soot in the furnace he refused until the worker kept begging him.

Last, someone reported seeing the motorcycle at the plant of the employee Dave got suspended on the night he was murdered

Generally I would agree, but Dave's case has a few mysterious things surrounding it. First, he couldn't have fit into the opening of the furnace. He would've had to lift the lid off via a machine and then jump in, and if that's the case then who closed it behind him? The 3 way loop is a strong indicator that he was dumped into the furnace

There was a video demonstration showing someone Dave's size being able to fit into the opening on the furnace without help.

Suicides are "illogical" to people who aren't suffering. There are other examples of suicides, such as this (https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-01-17-mn-118-story.html) one. Just because there are "easier" ways to commit suicide doesn't mean we should rule this one out solely because of that.

Yes fair point. I won't rule out suicide because there isn't any way it can be ruled out. At least to me, I'd put it something like 80/20 in favor of murder.

From his size and the small opening into the vat it appears it would take some effort to get yourself thru the opening. It doesn't seem as simple as sliding into the opening or diving head first into it and ok he is in there and thats it. He had to really wedge himself and shimmy himself to get his whole body thru the opening. Obviously he would have died the second the first part of his body touched the liquid, whether it was his head, arms or legs. It seems like the likeliest reaction of the body would be an explosion of sorts (sorry for the graphic description). I guess its possible IF the body does explode and the remains simply fall into the vat. Otherwise they would have found him with the majority of his body sticking outside of the vat.

I still believe the more likely scenario is murder. It's circumstantial of course but between the overall clandestine nature of what went on in that plant, and some of the clues i.e arguing with his boss right before he disappeared the pieces just fit much better for me. I strongly believe his boss knows what happened, whether he was directly involved, witnessed it or was told. It also really does not seem like the lead detective did a thorough investigation; he settled on suicide very quickly. That has always bothered me.

It's sad to learn that DC Cole has passed away. I wonder what exactly he did for a living. I know he was an investigative reporter, but it seems like he wrote mostly for free. Gigolo on the side?

Thank you for sharing that. I hadn't heard or read he passed away. How old was he?

I think that the detective was being told to cover this case up and told to rule it as a suicide or accident, which is why he made the inconsistent statement about the furnace and ruled out foul play. It seems like the detective wrote off suspicious suspects and never asked any follow up questions. He also dismissed Dave's friend history of events. He was definitely not trying to solve this case and tried to rule it as a suicide as fast as possible. Something with this case smells cover up

"According to the files, police dismissed Easterling's version of events and embraced Shouse's. No one else in the files – not David's family or his friends or even his psychiatrist – believed David was suicidal. Shouse was never questioned for motive or asked to prove his whereabouts."


Pretty much everything up until this point indicates suicide or murder by a disgruntled co-worker or two.

The local LEOs would have no incentive to perpetrate a cover-up like this unless a) there was something bigger going on (unlikely - given the discussions on such across past pages here) or b) there was a good-ol-boy network in the area that included some of them, plus Shouse and perhaps one or more plant workers (more likely)

Re: Dave Bocks, what a horrible way to die - hopefully he wasn't conscious when he was dropped into the vault of lava/flames. It's unfortunate that - due to the nature of his death, there couldn't be any kind of autopsy performed to determine cause of death. Obviously, his body was pretty much burned beyond recognition.

I definitely do not see this as a suicide. Not because I don't think Bocks was capable of this (it's possible). But, even if he was depressed/despondent, I don't see that he would have wanted to take his life this way, given that this would have obviously involved some very painful & horrific suffering before he passed.

I do see this as a murder. I suspect he was killed for one of two reasons:

1) He was ready to blow the whistle on some unsafe/dangerous activities that were being done by the management at the job itself, and was killed so that he wouldn't report these.

2) He may have witnessed some illegal acts @ work (not related to the job itself), and was killed so that he wouldn't report them. Since he was working third shift, it makes sense that shady things may have been going on at that time - possibly more than during a day shift (drugs, etc.)

This case does remind me somewhat of the much more high-profile 1970's Karen Silkwood murder.

I only hope they didn't put him in that furnace while he was still alive. I can't think of anything more cruel than that.

***A very unpopular opinion***

I haven't read all the pages, but has it ever been suggested that Dave's disappearance might be related to his "carpool buddy" Harry Easterling?

It seems to me that almost everything about Dave's disappearance is substantiated from Harry's recall of events of timeline. The part that has always been unsettling is his story about Dave's keys and the tool box.

***A very unpopular opinion***

I haven't read all the pages, but has it ever been suggested that Dave's disappearance might be related to his "carpool buddy" Harry Easterling?

It seems to me that almost everything about Dave's disappearance is substantiated from Harry's recall of events of timeline. The part that has always been unsettling is his story about Dave's keys and the tool box.

I suppose it's possible. What would Easterling's motive have been though??

I suppose it's possible. What would Easterling's motive have been though??

This.

It doesn't seem like Dave talked to many people at work outside of Harry, and it was a nightshift, so it never struck me as odd that Harry was pretty much the only one who recalled the last moments of Dave's life

Good point about a motive.

It just occurred to me that it's possible for two people who spend time carpooling to have disagreements. We like to think that people act civilly and respect each other's differences of opinion, but sometimes that's not the case.

Again I offer only speculation about the last hours of Dave because the coworker has outlined a scenario that Dave was unhappy at work and just "disappeared".

I have worked some jobs where nobody was "trusted" and a time clock had to punched in to begin/end work, take lunch and rest breaks. Other jobs involved a weekly sign in and if one wanted to "disappear" they probably could and no one would be the wiser.

A great thing about this forum is that folks discuss and question the testimonies of witnesses.

Good point about a motive.

It just occurred to me that it's possible for two people who spend time carpooling to have disagreements. We like to think that people act civilly and respect each other's differences of opinion, but sometimes that's not the case.

Again I offer only speculation about the last hours of Dave because the coworker has outlined a scenario that Dave was unhappy at work and just "disappeared".

I have worked some jobs where nobody was "trusted" and a time clock had to punched in to begin/end work, take lunch and rest breaks. Other jobs involved a weekly sign in and if one wanted to "disappear" they probably could and no one would be the wiser.

A great thing about this forum is that folks discuss and question the testimonies of witnesses.

I will say that it's an interesting theory that I've never even thought of before.

But I think there was some mumblings about the guy who Dave got fired/suspended was seen at the job site the night Dave went missing when he shouldn't have been there

Here is a writeup I did on Dave's case.

www.facebook.com/groups/631752367223887/permalink/1135825963483189/

I know we have discussed this case so many times over the past 15 years, but today I listened to Robin's podcast episode on Dave Bocks and I had a few thoughts. I am not sure if these have already been shared, so bear with me.

- Robin mentions the situation revolving around Dave keys. In the segment, we know that Harry said Dave kept his keys in his opened and unlocked toolbox. Harry also said he saw the keys at the end of their shift as he was waiting on Dave. Harry also mentions that a supervisor took Dave keys. These keys (according to Harry) were the same keys later found inside the furnace with Dave's body. During the segment, it is mentioned that one of the keys was thought to be a key to his house but they could not test it due to the condition the key was in. I bring this point up because, if Harry is correct and if the keys that were in the toolbox were the same keys that were found with Dave's body inside the furnace, then the supervisor who took the keys should have been questioned directly about how keys he was seen with were later found inside the furnace with Dave's body. Whether he put them in there or not, they were last seen in his possession and it seems like that is a pretty promising lead.

- The entire DC Cole thing was always ridiculous to me. He is a conspiracy theorist so of course he is going to find a conspiracy in everything. It is interesting to me that there is virtually nothing out there about him, as Robin mentions. For those of you who haven't listened to Robin's episode about this case, he essentially says that the only person pushing the "coverup" story was DC Cole. No one else in the segment says anything about a government coverup and there is nothing online suggesting it either other than DC Cole.

So I watched the segment again. I do not think he committed suicide. I just don't see why anyone would do it in that manner. Yes, I realize people who commit suicide usually aren't thinking straight, but I just have a hard time believing that Dave bought groceries for the week, paid all of his bills, discussed planning a family trip to Florida, and then work pretty much all of his shift only to kill himself at the end of his shift by jumping into the furnace. I just don't buy that.

Robin brings up several points about Dave's death having nothing to do with a conspiracy or Dave about to blow the whistle on whatever was going on at NLO. I tend to agree. Could he have been about to blow a whistle? Sure. But there just isn't anything out there to say he was other than DC Cole.

I think that Dave was accidentally killed. I have no idea how or why or by who. But I think something happened that was purely accidental and whoever was responsible panicked and threw his body into the furnace thinking it would incinerate it and nothing would be left. I do not think this was a pre-planned murder of any kind, conspiracy or not. Whoever put his body in the furnace likely had no clue about his keys. If someone was planning to kill Dave, they would likely have had to account for Harry Easterling. Now the segment doesn't mention that it was common knowledge that they carpooled but I'm sure people knew. Why plan to murder someone when another person is waiting on that person to get home and will absolutely make it known that Dave is missing since he drove him to work.

to me, the key to all of this is Dave's keys. If Harry is to be believed then the keys were still in Dave's toolbox at the end of their shift. Over an hour after Dave went into the furnace. Those keys were later found in the furnace and Harry says the supervisor had them last. I know this is a case that has very little information and very few leads, but to me, that is a significant detail, assuming Harry wasn't mistaken and he seemed very believable in the segment when he was discussing the keys.

Just watched this one. Definitely feels like a cross between Dale Kerstetter and Karen Silkwood.

It is of course convenient that neither the sheriff's department nor the DOE would speak to UM. That by itself is a red flag that something is being covered up.

D.C. Cole may not be the best representative of the conspiracy viewpoint, but I think its worth noting that rejecting the conspiracy angle because of him is also wrong.

He is a conspiracy theorist so of course he is going to find a conspiracy in everything.

This is what is known as the Ad Hominem (Circumstantial). The mere fact that he is a proponent of conspiracy theories does not mean his theory in this case is wrong. Indeed, someone interested in conspiracies is going to seek out cases where they are a viable theory, so this association is quite meaningless.

I'm also not convinced that him being the only one talking about that angle makes it any less likely, particularly when the groups that are supposed to investigate are obfuscating and refusing to talk to the media.

I've seen both drugs and safety violations mentioned as being potential motives to act against a would be whistle blower and those both seem reasonable, though given the DOE refusal to speak to UM the emissions of the plant are more suspect.

This seems unlikely to ever be solved, so mostly an exercise in considering possibilities. However its also interesting to look back on NLO and miss the time when the US hummed with the activity of industry, which is really my favored takeaway from the segment.

I believe this was a suicide. He had psychological issues and had made an attempt before. Murder makes no sense to me. And I always have a problem with these scenarios where people get murdered on the job because they know "too much", but none of them apparently having told anyone anything about this.

I found this on YT earlier. Looks somewhat recent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCy4UZ8ivW0

It's short but both of his kids believe he was murdered and they dismiss the suicide/depression angle. A few co-workers also believe he was murdered. Interestingly, the law enforcement official interviewed in this segment said that there's no way anyone could have put him in the furnace because as hot as it was, it would have burned you alive if you got within ten feet of it. A co-worker mentions what is said during the UM broadcast, that someone lowered him into the furnace.

Could it maybe be that he was killed in an accident and then they lowered him in there to cover this up and started pointing to murder/suicide theories to avoid a payout? The timings don't add up. The witness saw him go toward plant 4 at around 5 am but 5 am is when the furnace's temp dipped due to his being in the furnace.

def one of the most bizarre deaths from UM. IIRC it was featured in the bizarre murders DVD series. It could have been a murder or a suicide. would have been a strange way to commit suicide.

I found a transcript of one of the Accused episodes that goes into detail about DC Cole and who he was...apparently he grew up a mile away from the plant and his family members all got sick with various cancers and had died over the years. So he had an axe (rightfully so) to grind, and he was the one who actually got the story on UM's radar. I was unable to find an obituary for him, but I did find this (https://www.ancestry.com/genealogy/records/danny-charles-cole-24-1bkd9qc) which says he passed away 12/25/16.

The whole podcast
https://accusedpodcast.com/season-3/

I'm through four episodes of Accused, and the idea that Dave Bocks was killed because he was a potential whistleblower is patently absurd. NLO was being sued by widows of workers who died from cancer two years before Dave's death. There were multiple safety issues that were raised throughout the decades preceding Dave's death. Locals may not have known exactly what Fernald was, but there were articles (several of them locally) written in the decades prior to Dave's death with headlines such as, "Nuclear waste at Ohio plant manages to keep low profile." Harry Easterling says in the UM segment:

Dave was a fairly quiet guy, but if you worked on a job, and it was high radiation level, Dave would tell you, ‘You know, that particular dust collector is fairly radioactive, so watch yourself,’ or, ‘That pump has a certain kind of acid in it so be careful when you work on it.

Does that sound like someone who was ready to blow the roof off of safety violations in the plant, or just a guy looking out for a fellow coworker? Much of the podcast has been about how nearly impossible it would have been for Dave to have jumped into the furnace to commit suicide because the opening to get in was very small, and the furnace tank itself was only 4 feet deep. They also talked to former plant workers who said they would throw their apple cores and pieces of watermelon into the furnace and because of the moisture on the fruit, it would cause loud shotgun sounding like explosions. The host brings up a very solid point: if an apple core could cause such a loud explosion, a human body would probably be much worse. But what is ignored is that also applies to someone lowering an unconscious or dead Dave into the furnace. The body would have reacted the same way. The podcast also says that there were two temperature drops within 30 minutes of each other. Look at this picture:

https://www.cincinnati.com/gcdn/presto/2019/11/27/PCIN/5a22aa65-85e3-4cd9-a71f-42b74507ba60-Screen_Shot_2019-10-04_at_11.07.06_AM_copy.png?width=504&height=660&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp

That is an investigator standing in the opening (that would have been "open" even though the lid was closed; the lid did not fully enclose the opening inside the furnace) to the furnace. It looks like Dave could have jumped or fallen in. I don't want to sound too graphic, but since the tank was only 4 feet deep, I wonder if the first dip in the temperature was half of his body, and when that was completely incinerated, the other dip was the rest of his body.

I'm through four episodes of Accused, and the idea that Dave Bocks was killed because he was a potential whistleblower is patently absurd. NLO was being sued by widows of workers who died from cancer two years before Dave's death. There were multiple safety issues that were raised throughout the decades preceding Dave's death. Locals may not have known exactly what Fernald was, but there were articles (several of them locally) written in the decades prior to Dave's death with headlines such as, "Nuclear waste at Ohio plant manages to keep low profile." Harry Easterling says in the UM segment:



Does that sound like someone who was ready to blow the roof off of safety violations in the plant, or just a guy looking out for a fellow coworker? Much of the podcast has been about how nearly impossible it would have been for Dave to have jumped into the furnace to commit suicide because the opening to get in was very small, and the furnace tank itself was only 4 feet deep. They also talked to former plant workers who said they would throw their apple cores and pieces of watermelon into the furnace and because of the moisture on the fruit, it would cause loud shotgun sounding like explosions. The host brings up a very solid point: if an apple core could cause such a loud explosion, a human body would probably be much worse. But what is ignored is that also applies to someone lowering an unconscious or dead Dave into the furnace. The body would have reacted the same way. The podcast also says that there were two temperature drops within 30 minutes of each other. Look at this picture:

https://www.cincinnati.com/gcdn/presto/2019/11/27/PCIN/5a22aa65-85e3-4cd9-a71f-42b74507ba60-Screen_Shot_2019-10-04_at_11.07.06_AM_copy.png?width=504&height=660&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp

That is an investigator standing in the opening (that would have been "open" even though the lid was closed; the lid did not fully enclose the opening inside the furnace) to the furnace. It looks like Dave could have jumped or fallen in. I don't want to sound too graphic, but since the tank was only 4 feet deep, I wonder if the first dip in the temperature was half of his body, and when that was completely incinerated, the other dip was the rest of his body.
Ha, wait till you get to episode 6. It’s fun. Poor DC Cole can’t get a break, in fact a joke made about him in this forum is quoted.

If you remove the Fernald story from the equation you find that there is absolutely nothing at all that points to whistleblowing. The night Dave Bocks disappeared was totally normal. The only report otherwise came from that witness who claimed to see Dave having a private conversation with someone in a truck. To be honest with you I can’t see how someone standing in the early morning darkness, 50-60 feet or more away, can clearly see who is sitting in a truck doing what. Did the police not follow up with this witness? Who did the truck belong to, was it company or personal? Regarding family, co-workers, and friends, none of them ever reported that Dave had complained about his job or any safety issues. There were no months of investigation like Karen Silkwood. No comments and no concerns.

There is something about the apple core thing that bothers me. If apple cores made little explosions when dropped in the molten salt, how on earth would one be able to lower in a human body without creating a loud noise or a huge mess?

Finished the podcast. The conclusion they reach (and try to force the listener into accepting) is that Dave Bocks was murdered by someone for either finding illicit drug use/dealings at the plant or because he was a stickler to the rules and got someone suspended for sleeping on the job. But there is a zero percent chance that Dave Bocks was murdered, and IMO, the detective interviewed on the podcast lays out exactly how impossible it would have been.

First, the lift that UM made it seem like someone could have lowered Dave into the furnace with only moved in two directions: down to where it would be fitted to the lid and then moved to the side where the furnace would be open. But once the lid was opened, the lift wouldn't be able to operate to lower something unless the lid was closed again. And that three wire loop that UM made a big deal about? That was from an experiment that an engineer at the plant had done a month before Dave's death. They even produced a memo (with a date of May 2nd) describing the experiment as "a heat-treat test involving an 11-inch-diameter ingot, one or two sections of twisted bailing wire, each section measuring about 36 inches in length, and one or two sections of a thermocoupler, length undefined." Unless NLO was savvy enough to forge and produce this document in an effort to cover up Dave's murder, I think it's safe to say that it had absolutely nothing to do with Dave's death. He was not lowered into the furnace. And even if someone killed him or knocked him unconscious, and then operated the lift to open the lid to the furnace, the police said that the furnace was too hot for anyone to have gotten close enough to throw or dump a body into there. He either committed suicide or accidentally fell in.

I apologize ahead of time for this, I do not mean to come across as disrespectful. But the problem I have with the suicide theory in this case is the method. Why would Bocks choose such a painful and potentially drawn-out method to end his life? Not to mention the discomfort getting close to the tank. If the tank was too hot for people to stand around it long, how on earth could Bocks have done it too?

I apologize ahead of time for this, I do not mean to come across as disrespectful. But the problem I have with the suicide theory in this case is the method. Why would Bocks choose such a painful and potentially drawn-out method to end his life? Not to mention the discomfort getting close to the tank. If the tank was too hot for people to stand around it long, how on earth could Bocks have done it too?

The police speculated that he started out from a distance away from it and took off running and jumped into it. If that picture of the furnace I posted above was taken from above, then that means Dave could have jumped from that spot feet first into the furnace. I also still would not rule out an accident.

I apologize ahead of time for this, I do not mean to come across as disrespectful. But the problem I have with the suicide theory in this case is the method. Why would Bocks choose such a painful and potentially drawn-out method to end his life? Not to mention the discomfort getting close to the tank. If the tank was too hot for people to stand around it long, how on earth could Bocks have done it too?

I don’t find it disrespectful at all. We don’t know him or his situation, so at this point everyone is making educated guesses. Personally, I’m on the fence about it.

If it was a suicide, my assumption is that he may have been thinking less about how horrific the method was and more about the certainty of it. People have survived suicide attempts under near-impossible circumstances, but once someone enters that furnace, there is no chance of survival.

I used to work at a college where we had a blind, middle-aged student who required accommodations. I spoke with him once and learned that he had shot himself in the head and survived, but lost his vision entirely. I imagine Dave may have wanted to avoid a similar outcome.

I apologize ahead of time for this, I do not mean to come across as disrespectful. But the problem I have with the suicide theory in this case is the method. Why would Bocks choose such a painful and potentially drawn-out method to end his life? Not to mention the discomfort getting close to the tank. If the tank was too hot for people to stand around it long, how on earth could Bocks have done it too?

The police speculated that he started out from a distance away from it and took off running and jumped into it. If that picture of the furnace I posted above was taken from above, then that means Dave could have jumped from that spot feet first into the furnace. I also still would not rule out an accident.

I agree with Allierain. While I can't speak for Dave Bocks, or know what was going on in his head, having a running start to jump into a boiling hot furance seems bizarre when there are easier methods of suicide.

I also find it strange for him to show up to work only to have a burning desire to run and jump into a boiling hot furance. If he was feeling that bad then why show up to work? Why not just take his own life elsewhere?

I'm not sure I buy him purposefully jumping into the furnace.

The cops did a pretty thorough job of investigating homicide, IMO. They inspected the crane that was used to lift the furnace, they determined that no human being could have gotten close enough to the furnace to where they would have been able to dump Dave's body in, and there really wasn't anything concrete that they could have gone on.

The cops did a pretty thorough job of investigating homicide, IMO. They inspected the crane that was used to lift the furnace, they determined that no human being could have gotten close enough to the furnace to where they would have been able to dump Dave's body in, and there really wasn't anything concrete that they could have gone on.

If someone was wearing a kiln/furnace suit couldn't they get close enough to dump his body?

If someone was wearing a kiln/furnace suit couldn't they get close enough to dump his body?

The detective interviewed on the podcast said it was impossible for someone to have gotten close enough to dump another person in because the heat would have been unbearable, and not to mention if an apple core caused a huge explosion what a human body could possibly do to someone standing nearby. The logistics of operating a crane to lower him in would have been impossible due to the way the crane was operated. It only could open the furnace lid and move it to the side, and then the reverse motion could be done to close the furnace lid and lift back up.

If someone was wearing a kiln/furnace suit couldn't they get close enough to dump his body?

Nobody else seems to have thought of it but it should be obvious that not only were there plenty of suits available, many (most?) of the workers would be trained in furnace safety and how to use one.

I wonder perhaps if the crane can be added to my recent thread about red herrings that people tend to focus on but are irrelevant to the case at hand.

Nobody else seems to have thought of it but it should be obvious that not only were there plenty of suits available, many (most?) of the workers would be trained in furnace safety and how to use one.


From the detective interviewed on the podcast:

Okay. They couldn’t carry him up there. It was too hot. Nobody could get that close to put him in there. That’s the thing. That was the main thing that we were questioning, how could anybody put him in there? They don’t have heat-resistant suits at Fernald to get close enough to that. There’s just -- nobody could have carried him in. That space was so close. If they put him in there, it had to splash because what happens, it’s just like if you have a grease -- a skillet with grease on it. You throw some water on it, it pops, and it splatters all over. That’s what happens because the workers used to take watermelons, you know, pieces of a watermelon and throw them in, and boom, they would explode. That would -- a human body is going to do the same. So if somebody was that close to do that, they would have been burned, if they could have gotten that close, and they couldn’t. It was just too hot.

I can't think of any reason why this man would be lying about any of this.

Nobody else seems to have thought of it but it should be obvious that not only were there plenty of suits available, many (most?) of the workers would be trained in furnace safety and how to use one.

I wonder perhaps if the crane can be added to my recent thread about red herrings that people tend to focus on but are irrelevant to the case at hand.

Exactly. And with the furnace being on I'm sure workers in the area were wearing them.


From the detective interviewed on the podcast:



I can't think of any reason why this man would be lying about any of this.

This detective confuses me. He's saying they don't have heat suits that can withstand the furnace temperature so nobody can get close, but Dave Bocks can somehow run up and jump in with the heat not being a problem?

Also, couldn't the cover could have been partially on the furnace if he was put in obstructing a good chunk of the splash? If a person was wearing a klin suit then I'm sure they could've moved in time. (yes, im ignoring his statement about them not having suits that can't with stand the furnace heat)

Bock's co-worker also said that he saw his keys when he was leaving and they somehow ended up in the furnace.

For the record I don't know if Dave was murdered. However, I'm not fully convinced of the detectives theory.

This detective confuses me. He's saying they don't have heat suits that can withstand the furnace temperature so nobody can get close, but Dave Bocks can somehow run up and jump in with the heat not being a problem?

https://www.cincinnati.com/gcdn/presto/2019/11/27/PCIN/17aa505f-491d-40e4-aadd-2037560c170e-Screen_Shot_2019-07-25_at_2.11.40_PM.png?width=660&height=473&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp

From my understanding these steps were from a distance away from the opening in the furnace (the photo taken of the furnace I posted above would be from this vantage point). I think he was saying that it was possible that someone could have jumped in to the furnace from these steps as he says in the podcast:

There were steps going up at the end of the salt furnace. What we determined that he wanted to commit suicide. He had to get back, run up those steps, and either jump or dive in that small opening.

I know this sounds farfetched, but his point was that it would have been impossible for another person to have essentially chucked Dave's body into that small opening because the steps were a distance away to where a human couldn't have simply tossed another human into that small opening and that if they had gotten close enough to where they could have thrown his body in, they would have gotten seriously injured or died as well.

Also, couldn't the cover could have been partially on the furnace if he was put in obstructing a good chunk of the splash? If a person was wearing a klin suit then I'm sure they could've moved in time. (yes, im ignoring his statement about them not having suits that can't with stand the furnace heat)

The furnace was 4' tall, and the steps that workers used to work it were on an elevated platform from a distance away. It would have been impossible for someone to have thrown a human being into that small opening. Also impossible to have opened the lid with the lift and then used the lift to lower the body in; the lift was inoperable once the lid was opened and the only way you could operate it again was to close the lid. There is literally no scenario that is possible that involves foul play.

Bock's co-worker also said that he saw his keys when he was leaving and they somehow ended up in the furnace.

I've always wondered if Dave had two sets of keys; the ones found in the furnace that went to his vehicle and his house and another set used exclusively at work.

https://www.cincinnati.com/gcdn/presto/2019/11/27/PCIN/17aa505f-491d-40e4-aadd-2037560c170e-Screen_Shot_2019-07-25_at_2.11.40_PM.png?width=660&height=473&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp

From my understanding these steps were from a distance away from the opening in the furnace (the photo taken of the furnace I posted above would be from this vantage point). I think he was saying that it was possible that someone could have jumped in to the furnace from these steps as he says in the podcast:



I know this sounds farfetched, but his point was that it would have been impossible for another person to have essentially chucked Dave's body into that small opening because the steps were a distance away to where a human couldn't have simply tossed another human into that small opening and that if they had gotten close enough to where they could have thrown his body in, they would have gotten seriously injured or died as well.



The furnace was 4' tall, and the steps that workers used to work it were on an elevated platform from a distance away. It would have been impossible for someone to have thrown a human being into that small opening. Also impossible to have opened the lid with the lift and then used the lift to lower the body in; the lift was inoperable once the lid was opened and the only way you could operate it again was to close the lid. There is literally no scenario that is possible that involves foul play.



I've always wondered if Dave had two sets of keys; the ones found in the furnace that went to his vehicle and his house and another set used exclusively at work.

Couldn't they just drop him near the opening and then use a long tool to finish shoving him in? Also if they were wearing a klin suit I'm sure they had enough time to put him in before they got injured

It seems really far-fetched that Dave would walk/run through an extremely hot furnace just to possibly get his body down a tiny opening. I can imagine someone going through all of this trouble to hide something. Not just take take their own life which could've been done with less effort

Couldn't they just drop him near the opening and then use a long tool to finish shoving him in? Also if they were wearing a klin suit I'm sure they had enough time to put him in before they got injured

It would have been impossible to drop him and have him land near the opening or even on the lip of the furnace because of the distance away from the furnace to where you had to stand to not feel the effects of the heat. That was the cops point: you could not conceivably position someone or push them into the opening because to do so you would have had to have gotten close to the furnace which would have caused you to burn to death.

It seems really far-fetched that Dave would walk/run through an extremely hot furnace just to possibly get his body down a tiny opening. I can imagine someone going through all of this trouble to hide something. Not just take take their own life which could've been done with less effort

Suicide does seem farfetched because it is such a brutal way for someone to kill themselves. But as farfetched as it sounds, it is more plauisble than a homicide. Dave still being alive is more plausible than a homicide.

It would have been impossible to drop him and have him land near the opening or even on the lip of the furnace because of the distance away from the furnace to where you had to stand to not feel the effects of the heat. That was the cops point: you could not conceivably position someone or push them into the opening because to do so you would have had to have gotten close to the furnace which would have caused you to burn to death.

https://www.yyppe.com/datacache/pic/470_470_50fa8dbd1523b60a379452bb98e5e4e0.jpg

They don’t have heat-resistant suits at Fernald to get close enough to that

The detective would have no reason to make this up. This wasn't a rushed or shoddy investigation. Dave reported a coworker for sleeping on the job and that worker was suspended at the time of Dave's death. The cops interviewed him. A security guard said they saw this person's motorcycle at the plant on the night/morning of Dave's death. The cops went and checked this coworker's motorcycle out and saw that it was missing a carburetor and was inoperable. When they went back to interview the security guard again, a different coworker (who was described as someone who could have been a twin to the coworker that Dave got suspended) pulled up on a motorcycle who worked the 2nd shift on the night that Dave died. All of this is to show that the cops didn't just look at this and say, "meh he killed himself". And there is no reason why this cop would insist repeatedly that no one could have gotten close enough to the furnace to dump his body in.

The detective would have no reason to make this up. This wasn't a rushed or shoddy investigation. Dave reported a coworker for sleeping on the job and that worker was suspended at the time of Dave's death. The cops interviewed him. A security guard said they saw this person's motorcycle at the plant on the night/morning of Dave's death. The cops went and checked this coworker's motorcycle out and saw that it was missing a carburetor and was inoperable. When they went back to interview the security guard again, a different coworker (who was described as someone who could have been a twin to the coworker that Dave got suspended) pulled up on a motorcycle who worked the 2nd shift on the night that Dave died. All of this is to show that the cops didn't just look at this and say, "meh he killed himself". And there is no reason why this cop would insist repeatedly that no one could have gotten close enough to the furnace to dump his body in.

I'm not saying that the detective is lying, but I don't believe they didn't have heat-resistant suits that couldn't have gotten close enough to the furnace to put Dave in. A nuclear power plant with a furnace that didn't have any heat-resistant suits that couldn't get close enough while it was on in case of an emergecny doesn't make any sense.

I'm sure the detective was thorough in his investigation, but was he given bum information? If the higher-ups wanted his death ruled as an accident or suicide to avoid bad publicity about a murder, then I'm sure they fed the police a bunch of BS to keep them on the "accident" trail

Again, someone wearing a kiln suit dumping his body near the furnace then using a long instrument to push him in from a distance is impossible, but Dave walking and jumping in isn't? Wouldn't the heat be too much for Dave to get close?

Is there any evidence of the detective or any of his men wearing one of the suits and attempting to get close to the furnace while it's on, or did he just take someones word for it?

FWIW, the segment itself shows some news footage from the plant during the mid-80s that featured an employee working in a denim shirt with the sleeves cut off working around heavy equipment and what looks like uranium ore. Not even a pair of gloves on that dude.

Just seeing that, I can accept that Fernald didn't provide proper heat PPE.

FWIW, the segment itself shows some news footage from the plant during the mid-80s that featured an employee working in a denim shirt with the sleeves cut off working around heavy equipment and what looks like uranium ore. Not even a pair of gloves on that dude.

Just seeing that, I can accept that Fernald didn't provide proper heat PPE.

So please explain how Dave was able to jump and go near the furnace with its high temperature without a kiln suit, but someone wasn't able to put him in there?

So please explain how Dave was able to jump and go near the furnace with its high temperature without a kiln suit, but someone wasn't able to put him in there?

I don't think anyone put him in there. I'm not really convinced he put himself there, either. I lean accident.

When Dave never showed up to ride back with Harry Easterling, his coworkers assumed that he had went off somewhere to take a nap in an abandoned plant and was still sleeping so he left a note and left. If there was a spot above the furnace that he could have been sleeping at, I could see an accidental death. But Dave's daughter was adamant that he was a stickler for the rules and wouldn't have been sleeping on the job.

But Dave's daughter was adamant that he was a stickler for the rules and wouldn't have been sleeping on the job.

Yeah, that seems to be pretty consistent too from people who knew him on the job as well.

I struggle with this one a lot.

I have to concede a suicide scenario is somewhat plausible simply because Dave firstly had a prior attempt (which statistically makes one likely to have another), and secondly had a serious mental illness (schizophrenia). He was taking perphenazine (Trilafon) for it, which is prescribed primarily to treat what are known as the positive symptoms of schizophrenia like hallucinations and delusions. These drugs need to be tapered if they need to be discontinued, since there's a pretty big risk of withdrawal. Those symptoms include sweating and insomnia. It can also, of course, result in return of symptoms.

I think I do remember that the Accused podcast mentioned a coworker who stated Dave was complaining about not having slept well the day before because of the heat. A lot of people who have worked third shift for any period of time have a lot of difficulty getting quality sleep during the day. I don't know if that was true in Dave's case, but I do know that length and quality of sleep can greatly impact schizophrenic patients, making it more difficult to manage symptoms.

It's very, very hard to wrap one's head around jumping into a vat of literal molten rock. I just don't think it's as likely as other, more common methods. But if he suddenly stopped taking his meds? It might happen. I don't think it's the most likely scenario, but it could happen.

All that being said, Dave was by all accounts a rule follower and we don't have any accounts of him being non-compliant with his mental health treatment during this time period. He had also stopped drinking alcohol years before this, IIRC. Given that he seemed appropriate during all the time that Harry Easterling was with him that evening and it seems no one else at the plant reported any strange behavior from him, again, I don't think this is the likeliest scenario. But it does seem at least marginally possible--more so than a murder plot, in my estimation.

Don't know if I have even seen this UM episode but I ran across this today, just food for thought in regard to the possibility of it being a suicide:

https://nypost.com/2026/02/05/us-news/olive-garden-cook-commits-suicide-in-most-gruesome-way-in-kitchen-cops/

An Olive Garden cook has died after he dunked his own head into a searing hot deep fryer — as his co-workers frantically tried to thwart his gruesome suicide, authorities said.
The employee, who hasn’t been identified, stripped his clothes off and thrust his face into the fryer at the chain’s restaurant in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, last Friday afternoon, the Smoking Gun reported.
“A male victim went head first into the fryers,” dispatchers could be heard saying in grim 911 audio.
“I don’t have a lot of details, lot of people screaming, some kind of a burn victim,” another operator could be heard saying.
The cook was rushed a nearby hospital to be treated for his severe burns, but he later died from his injuries, authorities said.
A female employee suffered minor burns after she and several other workers tried to stop the cook from injuring himself even further.
At least one customer also tried to intervene.
Both Olive Garden and authorities refused to release any details about the ordeal, only describing it as a “suicide attempt.”
The restaurant shut down for several days in the wake of the incident but has since reopened.

It's too bad DC Cole isn't around anymore to investigate the possible involvement of Olive Garden's ties to the federal government.

The podcast also says that there were two temperature drops within 30 minutes of each other.

Could the first drop have been Dave's body, and the second drop his keys?

Could the first drop have been Dave's body, and the second drop his keys?

The furnace tank was 4' deep, and Dave was 6' tall, so I think it's possible that the first drop in the temperature was the front part of his body going into the furnace and the seccond was the rest of his body going in.

The furnace tank was 4' deep, and Dave was 6' tall, so I think it's possible that the first drop in the temperature was the front part of his body going into the furnace and the seccond was the rest of his body going in.

But what if Dave was laying in the vat horizontally? Wouldn't he mostly burn all at once?

https://lastseenalivepodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/fernald-furnace.png?w=1440

But what if Dave was laying in the vat horizontally? Wouldn't he mostly burn all at once?

https://lastseenalivepodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/fernald-furnace.png?w=1440

Hmm. Looking at it from this angle, maybe he could have fallen in accidentally. I just don’t know.

Something about this case I don’t like are the reports from many employees about the apple cores. If they left a small crust on the salt and made such a kaboom when thrown into the vat, how on earth wasn’t there an explosion and huge chunks of black stuff thrown everywhere from a body being dropped in? Humans are a little over 50% water. In the podcast mentioned earlier it was reported the bones found in the vat did not look like chicken bones but how could they be sure they were even bones to begin with? I’m no scientist but I would expect everything organic to be totally destroyed in the high heat of the vat. That leaves keys and wire. Did they honestly prove in one way or another that Dave was even dropped in there?

That picture is with the lid open. Bocks couldn't have closed it if he jumped or fell in with it open. No one from the plant has ever reported the lid being open from the first shift.

That picture is with the lid open. Bocks couldn't have closed it if he jumped or fell in with it open. No one from the plant has ever reported the lid being open from the first shift.

So if you surmise that the lid was mostly closed, and you combine the over-bearing temperatures then its more than likely he was put in there versus him jumping in there

Alot of work to squeeze in a small opening with high temperatures to kill yourself when there are easier methods

So if you surmise that the lid was mostly closed, and you combine the over-bearing temperatures then its more than likely he was put in there versus him jumping in there

Alot of work to squeeze in a small opening with high temperatures to kill yourself when there are easier methods

The lid had to have been completely closed because if it was open, the lift used to operate the lid would have been inoperable. So no one could have put him in the way conspiracy theorist DC Cole believes. The three wire loop was proven to have had nothing to do with Dave's death. If Dave opened the lid to jump in so he would have more room, someone else had to have closed it and no one would have had any reason not to report to someone that they came in and the lid was open when they arrived, because they would have no idea that Dave had jumped in it.

That leaves two possibilities:
-Dave jumped into that "small" opening when the lid was closed.
-Dave fell into the opening accidentally.

The opening was not as small as people have reported. It was wide enough for someone of Dave's size to have fallen into. If he jumped into it completely straight feet first, he would have fit. If he fell accidentally, it's still possible that his body would have fell in to the point where he could have fallen into the opening. From an Ohio News article about Dave's death:

The oven is about 12 feet long, four feet wide, and four feet deep, with a hood suspended over it. There is a gap between the hood and the oven large enough for a person to get through it, but how Bocks may have gotten in there is a mystery, Carrell said.

"It's not level with the ground like a swimming pool. It would be difficult to stumble in. You would have to climb up on some pipes to get to it", he said.

IIRC, Dave's daughter mentioned in the Accused podcast that Fernald was on board with an accidental death until they realized they would be on the hook for workers' compensation...then they changed their tune and started pushing the suicide theory. Dave was assigned to a different plant that night, and we know, according to Dave's supervisor, that Dave completed the job he was supposed to do at that plant. So why did he go to the different plant? Could have been any number of non nefarious reasons. Maybe he wanted to take a nap, maybe he knew there was something needed fixing in Plant 6 so he went over to do some maintenance work. I just cannot accept foul play in this case when you consider:

-Dave arrived at work with Harry Easterling after midnight, and the workers were supposed to meet at Plant 12 for their assignments. Dave wasn't there initially, and his supervisor radioed him and asked where he was and he said he was south of Plant 5 (near Plant 6) getting some fresh air. The supervisor said he would pick him up in a work truck and drive him back to Plant 12. When the supervisor picked him up, he was in front of Plant 6.

-Dave ate lunch with his supervisor and Harry Easterling around 4:10 a.m. and punched back in at 4:46 a.m.

-Dave's supervisor says he had a talk with Dave in front of Plant 4 (where they punched in) for "ten minutes" and saw him walking towards Plant 8 where he had been assigned work.

-5:15 a.m. was the first drop in the temperature in the furnace.

-At 7:30 a.m., Dave's supervisor tried radioing him in and couldn't get a hold of him and says he went to Plant 8 and saw that the work Dave had to do had been completed.

To believe Dave was murdered, you would have to believe that his supervisor (or someone else at the plant) murdered him without leaving any evidence behind of foul play, managed to carry his body up some steps or up a ladder, thrown his body inside of the furnace, and then covertly went to Plant 8 and completed the job Dave had been required to do (and that night he was one of two pipe fitters who would have been able to do said job). I don't buy it.

If Dave opened the lid to jump in so he would have more room, someone else had to have closed it and no one would have had any reason not to report to someone that they came in and the lid was open when they arrived, because they would have no idea that Dave had jumped in it.

That leaves two possibilities:
-Dave jumped into that "small" opening when the lid was closed.
-Dave fell into the opening accidentally.

So then you have two other possibilties:
-someone put him in the hole
-someone opened the lid, put him in the furnace, and then put the lid back on

To believe Dave was murdered, you would have to believe that his supervisor (or someone else at the plant) murdered him without leaving any evidence behind of foul play, managed to carry his body up some steps or up a ladder, thrown his body inside of the furnace, and then covertly went to Plant 8 and completed the job Dave had been required to do (and that night he was one of two pipe fitters who would have been able to do said job). I don't buy it.

Why would someone had to have completed his work for him? If we believe that the first temperature drop at 5:15 a.m. was Dave's body then that means he finished his work prior to 5:15 a.m. Unless the 5:15 drop wasn't Dave's body (or the other pipe fitter finished the job)

So then you have two other possibilties:
-someone put him in the hole
-someone opened the lid, put him in the furnace, and then put the lid back on

It would have been physically impossible for someone to have thrown him in because to do so without an explosion throwing remnants everywhere, they would have had to have thrown him in perfectly straight head first or feet first. It was also too hot for someone to have been near the furnace to the point where they could have thrown him in.

Lowering him in with the lift was impossible because the lift was inoperable once the furnace lid was open. It only functioned to open and close the lid. There were no other means for someone to have used equipment to put him in.

Why would someone had to have completed his work for him? If we believe that the first temperature drop at 5:15 a.m. was Dave's body then that means he finished his work prior to 5:15 a.m. Unless the 5:15 drop wasn't Dave's body (or the other pipe fitter finished the job)

Because by Dave's time card, the killer would have had approximately 29 minutes to locate him, kill him, transport his body to the Plant 6, and somehow manage to get him into the furnance by 5:15 a.m. Dave going off to finish his job gives his killer less time to do so. If Dave and his supervisor talked for ten minutes, that narrows the time down to 19 minutes. Occam's razor is Dave went to Plant 8, finished the job, and then went to Plant 6 where he met his fate.

Hmm. Looking at it from this angle, maybe he could have fallen in accidentally. I just don’t know.

Something about this case I don’t like are the reports from many employees about the apple cores. If they left a small crust on the salt and made such a kaboom when thrown into the vat, how on earth wasn’t there an explosion and huge chunks of black stuff thrown everywhere from a body being dropped in? Humans are a little over 50% water. In the podcast mentioned earlier it was reported the bones found in the vat did not look like chicken bones but how could they be sure they were even bones to begin with? I’m no scientist but I would expect everything organic to be totally destroyed in the high heat of the vat. That leaves keys and wire. Did they honestly prove in one way or another that Dave was even dropped in there?

I am no scientist either, but maybe there was an explosion, but no one was close enough to hear it? After all, IIRC, there were fewer employees at the plant overnight than during the day. Also, IIRC, what employees were there focused on maintenance, so their projects may have been loud enough to drown out the explosion. Or the employees were so focused on their jobs they weren't paying enough attention to hear an explosion?

(On that last point, I work part-time in retail and sometimes I am so focused on getting the merchandise on the shelves that I don't hear customers come up behind me.)

I can't decide how Dave Bocks died. Yes, he was at higher risk for suicide given his past, but, unless he was somehow disoriented, that just seems such an awful way to go. And yes, while I know that there are some really evil people out there, I can't imagine anyone dropping him in there. Perhaps he was playing around and took one too many chances.

https://www.statenews.org/section/the-ohio-newsroom/2026-04-23/scientists-realize-high-hopes-at-ohio-nuclear-site-turned-nature-preserve

I wonder if poor Dave Bocks's radioactive remains are still there.