Brett Kimberlin aka "Speedway Bomber"

It is thought that these bombings were carried out to distract authorities from the murder of Julia Scyphers, the mother of Sandra Barton, a very close friend of Brett Kimberlin.  Mrs. Scyphers believed that Kimberlin was engaged in a bizarre relationship with Barton's pre-teen daughter, Debbie, and she brought Debbie and her sister to live with her.  Kimberlin went so far as to threaten to commit suicide once he was separated from Debbie and had motive to want Julia Scyphers out of the picture.

Brett Kimberlin was in his mid-20s, already a convicted felon (perjury) and suspected of running a marijuana smuggling operation, using the restaurant he ran as a front to cover up for his illegal activities.

Only one of the bombings came with casualties.  Carl DeLong suffered the loss of one of his legs and other severe injuries that kept him in constant pain.  His wife was injured in the bombing, as well.

While awaiting trial, Brett Kimberlin made a list of 10 names- 6 to be killed, 2 to be roughed up and 2 to be robbed.  On three separate occasions, he solicited the help of a fellow inmate in carrying out his revenge on these people and all three times, the list ended up in the hands of prosecutors.  He was never charged with any crimes in relation to his "Hit List".  

While Kimberlin was in prison, Carl DeLong committed suicide, unable to handle the repercussions of the injuries he had sustained.  His wife, Sandra, went on to win a $1.6 million judgement against Kimberlin in a civil case.

"Five years later, in 1988, Kimberlin vaulted himself into the national news when he claimed he'd once sold pot to Dan Quayle, then a U.S. Senator from Indiana and candidate for vice president. Quayle vehemently denied the charge and Kimberlin produced no proof beyond making the claim. 


Kimberlin was paroled in 1994 after serving about 13 years of his 50-year sentence. But when he made no effort to pay the DeLong judgment his parole was revoked in 1997 and he went back to prison for about four more years, released again in 2001."

Shortly after the bombings, four young persons were abducted and later murdered.  There is no detail given to this incident other than the authorities were unable to connect it to the bombings.




Covers of Newspaper:

"The Indianapolis Star" Saturday September 2, 1978


"The Indianapolis Star" Wednesday September 6, 1978


"The Indianapolis Star" Thursday September 7, 1978


"The Indianapolis Star" Friday October 16, 1981



Newspaper Articles:

"Kimberlin Case a Maze of Murder, Deceit" October 18, 1981


"Kimberlin Gets 50 More Years" December 30, 1981


"Mystery Still Clouds Kimberlin Case" December 31, 1981