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FBI Olympic bomb probe yields nothing conclusive
Agents fail to match guard's voice to 911 caller
August 2, 1996
Web posted at: 9:40 p.m. EDT
ATLANTA (CNN) -- An FBI crime lab is scrutinizing household items seized from the apartment of a suspect in the deadly Centennial Olympic Park bombing to see if anything matches evidence recovered from the crime scene.
Federal agents have found pieces of metal pipe, batteries, nails, guns, bullets and other items at the Atlanta area home of Richard Jewell. Agents even snipped wires to the fog lights on his pickup, looking for possible clues, sources told CNN.
However, agents stil have found no forensic connection between Jewell and the pipe bomb. They also have failed to match Jewell's voice to that of the 911 caller who warned police about the bomb before it exploded last Saturday.
Agents visit college campus
On Friday, federal and state agents visited the campus of Piedmont College in Demorest in northeast Georgia to hunt for possible evidence.
Among other things, investigators were trying to determine whether the former campus security guard had tapped into the Internet via college computers, a campus source reported. Jewell worked at the college until May.
Bomb-making instructions available through the global computer network have contributed to an increase in bombings in the United States, authorities say.
FBI relies on lab analysis
Possessions seized from Jewell have been shipped to the FBI's crime lab in Washington for analysis. Investigators also are looking at Jewell's credit card records and various receipts.
Jewell was the park security guard who alerted authorities to the abandoned green knapsack in the crowded park during last Saturday's rock concert. The knapsack contained a pipe bomb that exploded, killing one person and wounding 111 others.
Jewell maintains he is not guilty. The 33-year-old former deputy sheriff has not been arrested or charged.
Jewell's attorney, Watson Bryant, said the items seized from the apartment are typical of what most people have around the home. Jewell is a handyman who works in his apartment and on his truck, even installing his truck's fog lights, Bryant said .
The receipts investigators are focusing on come from hardware stores in the area near Jewell's apartment and in northeast Georgia close to a cabin Jewell once rented. Investigators are checking to see if Jewell purchased 2-inch galvanized plumbing pipe and other items similar to those used in the pipe bomb.
Bryant, who said he doesn't think his client will be arrested, said Jewell plans to move and is concerned about his future. Bryant said Jewell was free to come and go from his apartment, although he had advised his client to stay home and stay quiet.
"He doesn't want to go anywhere. He doesn't want to deal with the attention," Bryant said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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