Dave Bocks

[TracyLynnS]

Originally Posted by egonsghost

I think its possible that he committed suicide. But, the murder theory is also plausible. In regards to the suicide theory, the interesting challenge is why he would choose such an incredibly grisly death, and why not pills or gunshot? Would hoisting yourself many feet up in the air off the ground and then plunging headfirst into thousand degree liquid fire really be a preffered method of death? If he was considering suicide and chose it, why couldn't/shouldn't he have simply found a more convienant way to die? It doesn't add up to me. Then factor in the whistleblowing situation, and the argument with the boss and the secretive nature of the plant and workers. Go fish.

I think suicide would be impossible. Wasn't the lid closed on the furnace after he entered it? Whoever put him in there expected everything to be destroyed. They weren't counting on the temperature drop being noticed and the keys, wire, and bone fragments surviving the heat.

[TheCars1986]

Originally Posted by TracyLynnS

I think suicide would be impossible. Wasn't the lid closed on the furnace after he entered it? Whoever put him in there expected everything to be destroyed. They weren't counting on the temperature drop being noticed and the keys, wire, and bone fragments surviving the heat.

That's another excellent point. Just how would Bocks be able to attach himself to the lift and the crudely made wire harness? And why worry about throwing his keys into the furnace if this were indeed a suicide?

[here_thar_be_yetis]

It's almost certain that the 'lid' on this big smelter was not some flimsy thing that two guys could lug into place on their own. I guarantee you that it was HEAVY and for that reason and the fact that it's covering 1300+ degree molten material, that this 'lid' would have to be lifted and set in place with a crane. In fact, that yellow beam in the photo probably IS part of the crane.

Which makes it even less likely that Dave Bocks killed himself on his own that night.

[TracyLynnS]

Originally Posted by here_thar_be_yetis

It's almost certain that the 'lid' on this big smelter was not some flimsy thing that two guys could lug into place on their own. I guarantee you that it was HEAVY and for that reason and the fact that it's covering 1300+ degree molten material, that this 'lid' would have to be lifted and set in place with a crane. In fact, that yellow beam in the photo probably IS part of the crane.

Which makes it even less likely that Dave Bocks killed himself on his own that night.

Thanks for that pic. I dug around and found the website dedicated to the Fernald Plant that shows that pic. They say that is THE actual furnace Bock's remains were found in. I wonder if that's correct. All the other photos on the site were interesting, too. Very helpful in understanding the entire story.

http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser...d/fernald.html

[ChrissySnow]

This is one of those cases where it really could go either way, but I am wondering if there is any way that this could have been accidental?

I can't imagine someone choosing such an excruciating way to kill themselves, but there have been documented cases of people self immolating, so it is possible.

[WishfulDreamer]

Originally Posted by ChrissySnow

This is one of those cases where it really could go either way, but I am wondering if there is any way that this could have been accidental?

I can't imagine someone choosing such an excruciating way to kill themselves, but there have been documented cases of people self immolating, so it is possible.

I think there are too many bizarre factors for this to have been an accident, including:

1) The future scandal once it was publicly known about the very dangerous chemicals (that were released into the atmosphere later)
2) Dave heading for a plant he was not assigned to work in (I believe his remains were found in an entirely different plan than he was headed to OR working in). I seem to recall he was supposed to be at plant 4, headed for plant 8, and his bones and personal effects were discovered in plant 6. This is really creepy. I would have to watch again to verify the numbers.
3) The mysterious, covert conversation he had with a supervisor in a pick up truck with the windows rolled up on a hot evening.


I don't buy the suicide theory. Anyone who worked in the plant would know how horrible gruesome it would be to throw themselves in. An accident is possible, I suppose, but it really seems unlikely that an experiences workman would fall in PLUS the lid was closed and heavy as others had mentioned. Assuming there was no foul play and he fell or jumped in, he would have had to have moved the lid on his own and then someone would have discovered it being off and reported that if there was really no unscrupulous activity going on. This case reeks of murder.

[TheCars1986]

It would be too much of a coincidence for Bocks to not have been murdered shortly after being seen arguing heatedly with his supervisor.

[Hambone2421]

Originally Posted by TracyLynnS

I think suicide would be impossible. Wasn't the lid closed on the furnace after he entered it? Whoever put him in there expected everything to be destroyed. They weren't counting on the temperature drop being noticed and the keys, wire, and bone fragments surviving the heat.

Completely agree. Seems very likely that there were more than just a single perpetrator involved in this, which leads me to buy into the whole "whistle blower/cover up" of some sort.

[Huskerz85]

Count me in as one who buys into the cover-up theory. In my mind, only three questions remain - 1) how far up did said cover-up go 2) who knew what, when and 3) what, if anything, did his supervisor have to do with it

As to how this specifically happened, I have two theories......

Self Preservation
It's possible a person or group of people (lower on the conspiracy chain) knew what was going on at NLO, but chose to "tow the line" as it were, being more concerned with their own careers/self-interest. Somehow, they either found out Bocks was making waves or just figured he couldn't be counted on to keep his mouth shut and decided to take him out of the picture in order to maintain the status quo.

A Premeditated Hit
Again, a person or group of people knew what was going on at NLO. Someone at or near the top of the conspiracy chain made the decision that Bocks had to go for whatever reason and ordered two or more 'flunkies' to take him out.


Now as to the heated conversation with his supervisor, does anyone know what that might be about?? I've skimmed the preceding pages of this thread, but haven't heard of anything. Could it be possible that Bocks' supervisor was playing it safe, trying to convince him to keep his mouth shut or quick making waves? Or could it have been something more routine/mundane?

[Hambone2421]

Originally Posted by Huskerz85

Now as to the heated conversation with his supervisor, does anyone know what that might be about?? I've skimmed the preceding pages of this thread, but haven't heard of anything. Could it be possible that Bocks' supervisor was playing it safe, trying to convince him to keep his mouth shut or quick making waves? Or could it have been something more routine/mundane?

Something along those lines is what many of us speculate on. Also, do we know for a fact that Dave Bocks was going to be a "whistleblower" or is that also conjecture on the part of the UM segment?

[Huskerz85]

Originally Posted by Hambone2421

I something along those lines is what many of us speculate on. Also, do we know for a fact that Dave Bocks was going to be a "whistleblower" or is that also conjecture on the part of the UM segment?

I think that's conjecture, though I'm not sure whether it came from UM or somewhere else.

[LilMissKryssy]

I can not understand how the retired detective said "we found no evidence of foul play." ummmm...really? The wire tied into three loops that would indicate he was tied and lowered into the furnace? The eye witness account of the intense discussion between bocks and his supervisor? His coworkers account of his keys being in his tool box after the furnace temp dropped but yet his keys were found with him in the furnace? The timing of Dave's death and then the scandal that rocked the plant? All these point to foul play and that his death would need to be investigated more seriously in that direction.

[Hambone2421]

Originally Posted by Huskerz85

I think that's conjecture, though I'm not sure whether it came from UM or somewhere else.

I've always wondered where it came from. They could have been arguing about a ballgame or which place in town had the best burger.

[TheCars1986]

Originally Posted by Hambone2421

I've always wondered where it came from. They could have been arguing about a ballgame or which place in town had the best burger.

I was coming to post something similar, but if the coworker's account is accurate, it was a humid night and Bocks and his supervisor were sitting in a car that wasn't running with the windows rolled up.

Interestingly enough, his coworker and carpool friend Harry Easterling had stated emphatically that he saw his keys sitting inside his unlocked toolbox at around 7:00 a.m. that morning. The furnace had a "foreign" substance enter it at 5:15 a.m. This was believed to have been the time that Bocks went into the furnace. But the police found his keys inside the furnace as well. Easterling said the last person who had access to the keys was the "supervisor". Easterling says after he told the supervisor about Bocks being missing that he went over to the toolbox, locked it, and took the keys with him.

[Hambone2421]

Originally Posted by TheCars1986

I was coming to post something similar, but if the coworker's account is accurate, it was a humid night and Bocks and his supervisor were sitting in a car that wasn't running with the windows rolled up.

Interestingly enough, his coworker and carpool friend Harry Easterling had stated emphatically that he saw his keys sitting inside his unlocked toolbox at around 7:00 a.m. that morning. The furnace had a "foreign" substance enter it at 5:15 a.m. This was believed to have been the time that Bocks went into the furnace. But the police found his keys inside the furnace as well. Easterling said the last person who had access to the keys was the "supervisor". Easterling says after he told the supervisor about Bocks being missing that he went over to the toolbox, locked it, and took the keys with him.

Thanks for clearing that up. It has been years since I've seen it. So basically due to the fact that the supervisor seems to have thrown the keys into the furnace and given his car meeting with Dave, it is assumed that there may have been some sort of spat between the two which led to his murder/