She Lived Next Door To America’s Most Infamous Killer: The UNABOMBER

She Lived Next Door To America’s Most Infamous Killer: The UNABOMBER

Author: Robert Riggs May 16, 2023 Duration: 41:24

Before, there was Osama bin Laden. Before, there was Timothy McVeigh. There was Ted Kaczynski.  The UNABOMBER. FBI codename for “UNiversity and Airline BOMBER.”

For sixteen years, Jamie Gehring grew up next door to Ted Kaczynski. She never had a clue that the man who appeared to be a harmless hermit was one of the most notorious serial killers of the 20th Century. 

Hello. I’m investigative reporter Robert Riggs here to ask you a chilling question from inside the crime scene tape. Do any of us really know our neighbor?  

Homemade Metal Shrapnel

Ted Kaczynski mailed and hand-delivered homemade bombs to people at scientific universities, airlines, and businesses for what he believed was their role in the over-industrialization of society and the destruction of nature. 

The former Berkley math professor, a certified genius who entered Harvard at age 15, terrorized America for seventeen years between 1978 and 1995.

The FBI called Kaczynski a twisted genius.

He killed three people and injured 23, claiming limbs and eyesight, leaving many with permanent emotional and physical scars.

Residents of tiny remote Lincoln, Montana, thought Kaczynski was an oddball, cranky loner.   He lived off the grid in a remote mountain cabin 10 feet by 12 feet. No running water. No electricity. 

It was a primitive bomb-making factory. Kaczynski handcrafted bombs from scrap materials that were impossible to trace.  He called the bombings experiments. 

He smelled foul. His hair was unruly, uncombed, and dirty.  No one could imagine that he was the anonymous author of a 35-thousand word manifesto sent to the New York Times and Washington Post in1995 threatening more bombings if it was not published.

Until then, it was the cold case of all cold cases.  It gave the FBI a big break. When it hit the press, Kaczynski’s brother and sister-in-law spotted similar semantic railings in letters written to them by their estranged relative, and they contacted the FBI.

FBI agents Tom McDaniel and Max Noel arrest Ted Kaczynski aka The UNABOMBER

For 16 years, Jamie Gehring lived next door to this serial killer and wanted domestic terrorists. Her late father, “Butch,” helped the FBI to find his cabin and to lure him outside. 

Baby Jamie Gehring with her parents Tammie and Butch

She has written a deeply researched book entitled, Madman in the Woods: Life Next Door to the UNABOMBER.  Here’s our interview.


Photos: A look back at The UNABOMBER’S Arrest in Montana


Photos: A look inside The UNABOMBER’S Montana Cabin


FOLLOW the True Crime Reporter® Podcast 

SIGN UP FOR my True Crime Newsletter

THANK YOU FOR THE FIVE-STAR REVIEWS ON APPLE Please leave one – it really helps.

TELL ME about a STORY OR SUBJECT  that you want to hear more about


Robert Riggs has spent decades as an investigative reporter, and in True Crime Reporter, he applies that relentless, document-driven approach to the stories that haunt us. This isn't just a retelling of grim headlines; it's a meticulous walk through active case files, historical injustices, and the societal undercurrents that allow crime to flourish. Each episode feels like you're sitting across from Riggs as he lays out his notes, connecting dots between evidence, witness accounts, and the often-overlooked details that change a narrative. You'll hear the tension in the pursuit of truth, the weight of unresolved questions, and the quiet impact on communities and families left in the wake of violence. The podcast moves beyond the sensational to examine the cultural and systemic factors at play, offering a sober, deeply researched perspective. Listen for long-form narratives that build like a detective's board, where every piece of audio, every interview, and every document serves a purpose. It’s for those who want to understand the 'why' and the 'how' as much as the 'who,' presented with the clarity and authority of a seasoned journalist who knows the terrain. This is a journey into real stories, handled with the care they demand, and it naturally becomes an essential listen for anyone fascinated by the intersection of human behavior, justice, and the news.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

True Crime Reporter
Podcast Episodes
Beneath the Charm: Unveiling The Black Widow Part 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:36
Sandra Bridewell has fallen from grace in Dallas Society. Shunned by neighbors and most friends in the posh Highland Park community that is home to oil and real estate barons. In Parts 1 & 2 Beneath the Charm: Unveiling…
Beneath the Charm: Unveiling The Texas Black Widow Part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:09
Dallas Socialite Sandra Bridewell cultivated an image of elegance and vulnerability. In part one of our series, Beneath the Charm: Unveiling The Black Widow, Sandra Bridewell’s first husband’s life tragically ends with h…
Beneath the Charm: Unveiling The Texas Black Widow Part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:58
Amidst the sprawling cityscape of Dallas, where power and prosperity intersect with secrets and lies, Sandra Bridewell’s story unravels. Bridewell was a beautiful, alluring socialite in the affluent enclave of Highland P…
The Bulldog Detective: The Untold Story of America’s First Top Cop [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:13
Through the mist of forgotten histories, the figure of William J. Flynn beckons, offering a glimpse into a life that, though eclipsed by time, remains a testament to human endeavor and spirit. In the early 20th century,…
Searching For Patty Hearst:  Militant Marxist or Brain Washed? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:50
The mystery of Patty Hearst’s transformation from a college student born into privilege to a Marxist militant wielding an M-1 carbine in a bank robbery remains as compelling as ever on the 50th anniversary of her kidnapp…
Unmasking Evil: Face-to-Face with the Son of Sam [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:07
David Berkowitz, known as the “Son of Sam,” terrorized New York City for a year in the late 1970s with a series of random murders and cryptic taunts to police and the press. Ever since then, the question of why he did it…
The Axe Falls: The Shocking Execution of the Teenage Queen [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:54
I opened my reporter’s notebook to the historical case called the “Nine Days Queen.” It’s a tragic story from 16th-century England about Lady Jane Grey. Her life, a fleeting moment in the annals of English royalty, ended…