Copyright 1995 The Houston Chronicle Publishing Company
The Houston Chronicle
May 13, 1995, Saturday, 2 STAR Edition
SECTION: A; Pg. 30
LENGTH: 591 words
HEADLINE: FBI questions killer about bombing; Inmate calls Chronicle from jail cell to monitor exchange
BYLINE: EVAN MOORE; Staff
BODY:
The FBI is investigating possible links between serial murderer and avowed white supremacist Donald LeRoy Evans and suspects in the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building.
In a terse, often heated conversation in Evans' Florida jail cell this week, Evans and FBI Agent John Peterson of Miami discussed the Oklahoma bombing and possible future bombings by white supremacist groups. The discussion then turned to Evans' theory that the Unabomber, who has sent numerous mail bombs since the late 1970s, is associated with mass murderer Charles Manson.
Evans also repeated his long-standing demand that he be held as a federal prisoner in accordance with a 1991 agreement he reached with a U.S. District Court.
Evans, who has been convicted of the rape-murder of a 10-year-old girl in Mississippi, is one of an untold number of persons the FBI has queried about both bombing cases. Evans, however, is defending himself in his current capital murder trial for the murder of a prostitute in Fort Lauderdale, so he has a phone in his cell. Insisting that a third party monitor the exchange Tuesday morning, he dialed a Chronicle reporter and held the receiver between himself and Peterson.
The FBI agent would not discuss the matter with the Chronicle.
The FBI, prompted by rumors that another bomb would be set off in New Orleans on July 4, apparently sought out Evans because of his association with violent, white supremacist groups and his roots in Michigan, former home of bombing suspect Terry Nichols.
During his Florida trial he has shaved his head, assumed the name ""Hi Hitler'' and spent a period of about two weeks on a radio call-in show in which he voiced white supremacist views.
In the FBI interview Tuesday, Evans told the agent he did not know Nichols or fellow suspect Timothy McVeigh, but knew of others who did.
""There are a lot of groups out there. We've got people out there you don't know about,'' said Evans.
""If you don't believe me now, you can come back and see me on my birthday (July 5),'' he said.
Evans then turned the conversation to the Unabomber, an unknown individual believed to have sent letter bombs that have killed three people and injured 23 since 1978.
The bomber has targeted what he calls ""techno-nerds'' in the computer industry and various executives in other industries.
Evans told Peterson he believes the bomber is allied with Air, Trees, Water and Animals (A.T.W.A.), a group started by Charles Manson after his imprisonment in 1971 and run by his longtime follower, Sandra Goode, in Hanford, Calif. The group combines white supremacy and ""a holy war against pollution'' and receives money from the sale of Mansons' art work and personalized articles to collectors.
""Think about it,'' Evans told the agent. ""You've got airline executives bombed, a timber executive, an Exxon executive who was involved in the cleanup from the Valdez (oil spill) and geneticists who work with animals. The whole thing sounds like Charlie. ''
Goode said she was unaware of who the Unabomber or his victims were and was unaware of any FBI investigation of her group.
Evans ended the discussion with a demand to be moved from his current cell in the Broward County jail to a federal facility in Miami. Evans has consistently referred to an agreement with a U.S. District Court, signed at his arrest in 1991, which states he is to be held as a federal prisoner. He has complained that he is not allowed to smoke in the county jail.
GRAPHIC: Mug: Donald LeRoy Evans