Copyright © Stephen E. Jones[1]My Hacker Theory in a nutshell (5) #40
This is "My Hacker Theory in a nutshell (5)," part #40 of my Turin Shroud Encyclopedia. See Part 1 for more information about this 6-part series. Although a reference date may be the same, e.g. "[17May15]," when clicked it will open at the correct place in the source. This may be the most important post that I have ever published! See below.
[Right (enlarge)]: Start screen of my Zoom interview by Guy Powell on 2 May 2025. Now on YouTube. The sub-titles didn't like my Australian accent. But it turned out better than I expected, considering it was my first use of Zoom (although I had watched my wife using it). I explained my Hacker Theory to a wider audience. And my readers saw and heard me.]
Newcomers start with: "The Turin Shroud in a nutshell"[Index #1] [Previous: My Hacker Theory (4) #39] [Next: My Hacker Theory (6) #41].
■ Evidence that the secondary hacker was German hacker, Karl Koch (1965-89) [21Jul14; 17May15; 02Jun16].
• Karl Koch (1965 - c. 23 May 1989) was a West German computer
[Left (enlarge)]: Karl Koch (1965-89). "The hacker Karl Koch was only 23 years old. On 1 June 1989 they found his burnt corpse in a forest near Gifhorn (Lower Saxony)"[21Jul14; 02Jun16; 17May15].]
hacker in the 1980s[21Jul14; 17May15; 02Jun16]. Both Koch's parents had died by the time he was 16 and Koch's inheritance supported his expensive drug habit and full-time hacking[21Jul14; 17May15; 02Jun16]. Koch was an expert at guessing logins and passwords[21Jul14; 17May15; 02Jun16]. Koch was also an expert in hacking DEC computers running under the VMS operating system (see 07Apr25), which the AMS computers were[21Jul14; 17May15; 02Jun16; 25Mar18; 23Jun18]. Koch adopted the alias "Hagbard" after the hero "Hagbard Celine" in The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson[21Jul14; 17May15; 02Jun16].
• Koch was a paid hacker for the KGB In 1985, at a hacker meeting in Hanover, Koch was recruited by a West German Peter Carl as a the first member of a ring of hackers to break into Western computer systems, particularly those on military or defence industry sites, and sell the information and programs to the KGB[21Jul14; 17May15; 02Jun16]. Others who joined Koch in the Hanover KGB hacker circle included Hans Heinrich Hübner (Pengo), Dirk-Otto Brzezinski (Dob) and Markus Hess[21Jul14; 17May15; 02Jun16]. Hess was the hacker whom Clifford Stoll (1950-) caught[07Apr25]. In September 1986 Peter Carl went to the Soviet trade mission in East Berlin with a proposition to sell the Soviets secret information from USA military computers[21Jul14; 17May15; 02Jun16]. A KGB agent, Sergei Markov (1958) [see 03Sep14], agreed to Carl's hacking proposition[21Jul14; 17May15; 02Jun16]. At subsequent meetings in East Berlin with Carl and Brzezinski, from 1986 through 1988, Sergei paid for information and software the hackers provided[21Jul14; 17May15; 02Jun16].
• Linick gave to the KGB Zurich and Oxford's hacker program tapes According to my Hacker Theory, Linick would have given to the KGB copies of his hacker program on tapes to be run on Zurich and Oxford's AMS computers by a hacker of the KGB's choosing. Each program would be slightly different because of each laboratory's individual `hard-wired' first-run date[22Jan25; 28Jan25]. This would have to be well before Arizona's start of its dating on 6 May 1988[23Jun18; 08Dec22], because Linick would not know when the other two laboratories would start their dating. Linick would have tested his program to make sure it worked on Arizona's AMS computer, and also on dummy data for the other two laboratories. Linick would not need to know Koch, although he might have heard about him. Koch would not likely have known or heard of Linick. See below that Koch would not have known what program he was installing on DEC computers in Zurich and Oxford radiocarbon dating laboratories.
• Koch installed Linick's program on Zurich and Oxford laboratories' AMS computers According to my Hacker Theory, Koch installed Linick's hacker program, as directed by the KGB, on the AMS computers at Zurich and Oxford radiocarbon dating laboratories[21Jul14; 17May15; 02Jun16]. So that, as with Arizona laboratory, when Zurich and Oxford laboratories radiocarbon-dated their Shroud samples, Linick's program installed on their AMS computers by Koch, substituted the Shroud's first-century radiocarbon-date with computer-generated dates[05Jul14; 31Mar15; 03Jun15; 22Sep15; 22Feb16; 24Oct16; 15Aug17; 22Oct17; 23Jun18]. Which when all three laboratories' radiocarbon dates were combined and averaged[30Jan15; 11Feb15; 31Mar15; 03Jun15; 22Sep15; 22Feb16; 24Oct16], helped by fraudulent statistical manipulation by the British Museum's Michael Tite) yielded a 1260-1390 = 1325 ± 65 years radiocarbon date of the Shroud[22Jan25].
• Koch confessed to an American Shroud author that he had hacked the Shroud's radiocarbon dating At 1:30am in March[13Apr19] 1989, a well-known American Shroud author
[Right (enlarge[JJ11]): Just as Robinson Crusoe's discovery of a single footprint in the sand was proof beyond reasonable doubt that he was no longer the only human on his island, so the mention of the single word "espionage" in relation to the Shroud, by the German-sounding male in the phone call to the well-known American Shroud author in March 1989, is proof beyond reasonable doubt that the caller was Karl Koch! (see below).]
received a phone call from a German-sounding male[01Jun16; 02Jun16; 24Oct16]. The author does not want his name made public, so Joe Marino, to whom the author emailed the account, has given him the pseudonym "Harry"[24Oct16; 02Nov16; 13Apr19]. I have revealed more about "Harry" than Marino's "shroud researcher" because it is necessary to explain how Koch in Germany, would have heard about "Harry" and to have been motivated to phone him and confess to him that "he [Koch] had been involved in falsifying the results of the [Shroud's] 1988 dating"[01Jun16; 24Oct16; 13Mar21].
The following is my point-by-point analysis of Marino's account in his 2020 book, "The 1988 C-14 Dating of the Shroud of Turin: A Stunning Exposé"[24Oct16; 13Apr19]:
• "A prominent Shroud researcher, who does not want to be identified ..." In a follow-up email of 17 April 2019, "Harry" wrote that the "reason ... has nothing to do with the phone call per se"[13Apr19]. So "Harry" stands behind the accuracy of his report, but perhaps he is under pressure from his employer not to attach his name to such a distasteful subject as computer hacking? Whatever, I don't need "Harry's" name, for my blog (although it would enhance the credibility of his report), but when I publish this account in my book[28Jan25] (hopefully by end 2026), on the principle, "We must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29), I will substitute "Harry" with the author's real name, whether he approves or not!
• "... has told only a few other Shroud researchers, including myself ..." That this caller made such an impression on "Harry" that he told other Shroud researchers about it, is itself significant, because from his writings "Harry" would not be easily impressed by a hoax caller. The problem is that computer hacking is so alien to Shroud scholars, they don't know what to do with that information, so they ignore it.
• "... about a curious phone call he had received one day at about 1:30 in the morning ..." In March 1989 "Harry" lived in Eastern USA timezone EDT UTC-4, in which 1:30 am would have been 7:30 am in Koch's Hanover, Germany's Central European Summer Time (CEST, UTC+02:00). A hoaxer would not likley have phoned "Harry" about 1:30 in the morning. He likely would have been in the USA, because international phone calls were expensive back then, and therefore he would likely have phoned "Harry" at a more reasonable time. Koch, on the other hand, was used to making inexpensive international phone calls via Tymnet anytime, day or night. "Harry's" home phone number was presumably in a local, paper phone directory, since online phone directories in the USA began in 1996. But if Koch knew "Harry's" employer, he could have hacked into its main computer and found "Harry's" home phone number. I have a pre-1989 book which mentions where "Harry" was then employed, so Koch could have found that information online or through a library.
• "His recollection was that it was not long after the C-14 dating results were announced in October 1988 and sometime in the spring" From 13 October 1988[13Oct18; 08Dec22] to March 1989 is 5-6 months, which would be a long time for a hoaxer to wait. More likely "Harry" is remembering the publication of the Nature article of 16 February 1989, which might have prompted a hoaxer to phone "Harry." But then a hoaxer would not likely have phoned "Harry" 2 weeks or more after the 16th of February 1989 Nature article was published, but would have `struck while the iron was hot'[13Apr19]. But Koch, who had since become a Christian[21Jul14; 17May15; 01Jun16; 02Jun16; 24Oct16; 27May19], would have been prompted to phone "Harry" when he read the article and realised that the programs he had installed on the DEC computers in Zurich and Oxford University laboratories, at the KGB's directions, must have falsified the results of the Shroud's 1988 dating (see below).
• "I will call the researcher "Harry." "Harry" is not actually a researcher, in the sense that he carried out original research on the Shroud. My "Shroud author" is more accurate.
• "Harry indicated the (male) person, who did not apologize for calling so late, sounded distraught." See above on the unliklihood of a hoaxer calling so late. The caller sounded so "distraught" to "Harry" that he remembered it long afterwards and even told other Shroud researchers about it[above]. It would be hard for a hoaxer who is not a trained actor to sound so distraught that it would leave a lasting impression on "Harry," who is not someone who would be easily fooled[13Apr19]. A hoaxer would not really have been "distraught" because it is an impossible claim that he "had been "involved in falsifying the results of the 1988 dating" (see below). But Koch, who had since becme a Christian (see above), would have been distraught when he realised that the programs he loaded into Zurich and Oxford laboratories' DEC computers, must have falsified the results of Zurich and Oxford's dating, because why would the KGB have asked him to install them?
• "The person told Harry he had been involved in falsifying the results of the 1988 dating." A hoaxer would not have claimed that because it would be impossible for an individual who was not a hacker to do it. No staff member at one of the laboratories could falsify the results of the other two laboratories. The caller must have been Koch because he did not say that "he had been involved in falsifying the 1988 dating" but "he had been involved in falsifying the results of the 1988 dating"!
• "Harry thought the accent might have been German ... " Koch was German. Why would hoaxer affect a German accent if he was not German? If the hoaxer was German that could explain his knowing about the three German hackers prosecuted for "espionage" (see below). but that had nothing to do with the Shroud! So again, this can only have been Koch.
• "... and thought the person was in his 40s but wasn't sure because of the accent and emotional nature of the call." Koch was born on 22 July 1965, so he would have been 23 years and 8 months on 22 March 1989. But if Koch was phoning from Germany on Tymnet, the voice quality would have been poor. Added to which, as "Harry" said, the caller was so distraught that "Harry" thought he might shoot himself (see below), so his voice would not have sounded like a normal 23 year-old.
• "The person would not reveal his name (the person claimed it wasn't important) or from where he was calling." A hoaxer would likely have told "Harry" that he was a staff member of one of the three radiocarbon dating laboratories, to support his claim that he had been involved in falsifying the Shroud's 1988 radiocarbon dating (see above). But see below that Koch feared that if he said any more, "he could get in some real trouble."
• "He kept asking Harry if he would forgive him for having done a disservice to humanity." It is unlikely that a hoaxer would beg a Shroud author for forgiveness for "having done a disservice to humanity" in "falsifying the results of the [Shroud's]1988 dating." A hoaxer would be more likely to boast about it and taunt "Harry". But Koch, who had become a Christian (see above), would have been consumed by guilt, after he realised that he had installed a hacker's program in Zurich and Oxford laboratories' AMS computers.
• "The person even mentioned the word `espionage' in relation to the event." This can only have been Koch. See above that just as Robinson Crusoe's discovery of a single footprint in the sand was proof beyond reasonable doubt that he was no longer the only human on his island, so the mention of the single word "espionage" by a German-sounding male, who said in a March 1989 phone call to "Harry" that he had been involved in falsifying the results of the Shroud's 1988 dating, is proof beyond reasonable doubt that the caller was Karl Koch! It is therefore a `two factor authentication' of my Hacking Theory[13Apr19] that:
"The 1988 radiocarbon dating of the Shroud of Turin as `mediaeval ... AD 1260-1390' was the result of a computer hacking, by Arizona radiocarbon dating laboratory physicist Timothy W. Linick, aided by German hacker Karl Koch, on behalf of the former Soviet Union, through its agency the KGB" [23Jul15]
is true,
and therefore the
1260-1390 radiocarbon date of the Shroud is the greatest scientific fraud of all time (because of its length of time - ~
37 years and counting; the many millions of persons misled, and its obstacle to saving Christian faith (
Mt 18:6; Mk 9:42; Lk 17:2) of
millions)! However, I do not claim that the laboratory leaders knowingly committed fraud, but that
they were duped.
Although I do claim that after Linick's `suicide' (see
below) some laboratory leaders knew, or suspected that Arizona's result was hacked by Linick and they covered it up[
15Sep16;
18Sep17].
This is because Markus Hess (1960-), the German hacker caught by Clifford Stoll[07Mar14], was in June 1987 arrested in his apartment in Hanover, Germany, by West German police[21Jul14; 17May15; 02Jun16]. Hess was charged with espionage, put on trial and found guilty of that crime[21Jul14; 17May15; 02Jun16]. But because the police did not catch Hess in the act of hacking, as planned, the charge was dismissed on appeal[21Jul14; 17May15; 02Jun16]. West Germany had an amnesty for espionage which, provided that those who had committed it had not been caught at it, had handed themselves in, pleaded guilty, made a full confession and cooperated fully with the prosecution, would not be imprisoned[21Jul14; 13Dec14; 17May15]. A year later, in the summer of 1988 (June-September), first Koch, then Hübner, independently, taking advantage of the amnesty provision, approached the authorities to confess their hacking for the KGB[21Jul14]. They were each put on trial separately, and found guilty of espionage, but under the terms of the amnesty, were not imprisoned[21Jul14].
Because the first radiocarbon dating of the Shroud was by Arizona laboratory on 6 May 1988[22Feb14; 23Jun18; 08Dec22], and Zurich was next, having commenced its dating on 25 June[08Dec22], Koch's hacking of Zurich and Oxford's dating for the KGB would have occurred in the period covered by his amnesty. So Koch put himself in legal jeopardy by not including those hackings in his confessions to the West German authorities, because if they found out that he had omitted them, Koch would have breached the terms of his amnesty and would been imprisoned for all the hackings he had confessed to, as well as his Shroud hacking. This can only have been because the KGB had warned Koch not to confess their hacking [03Sep14; 17May15; 17May15]. Which explains Koch's refusal to tell "Harry" who he was (see above) and why "he couldn’t say more as he could get in some real trouble" (see below).
• "The only detail he gave about the procedure was saying that the real Shroud sample was thrown in the trash." A hoaxer would not have claimed that as it cannot be literally true, and "Harry" would have known that. All 4 Shroud samples: Arizona A and A1, Zurich Z and Oxford O (see 28Feb25) were dated, except Arizona's small A1 sample, which still exists (see 28Feb25). There was only one "real Shroud sample" briefly on 21 April 1988[26May18], when one sample was cut from the Shroud and subdivided into 4 for the 3 laboratories, trimmings kept by Prof. Giovanni Riggi (1935-2008), and a reserve sample retained by the Archdiocese of Turin (see again 28Feb25). Also, the caller told Harry he had been involved in falsifying the results of the [Shoud's] 1988 dating (see above). But there wouldn't have been any "1988 dating" if the Shroud sample had been thrown into the trash[13Apr19]! So "thrown in the trash" must be a non-literal description by the caller to whom English was not his first language (as it wasn't for Koch), who meant that he had "trashed the Shroud"[01Jun16; 02Jun16; 24Oct16; 13Apr19; 13Mar21]
• "Harry tried repeatedly to get the man to identify himself ..." See above that a hoaxer would have falsely identified himself as a staffer at one of the three laboratories, to explain how "he had been involved in falsifying the results of the [Shroud's] 1988 dating." And even have given "Harry" the name of one of the laboratories' scientist in the 1989 Nature article, because if "Harry" had phoned that staffer later and found that he didn't have a German accent, the hoax would have been a success in getting "Harry"to take it that seriously!
• "... and when he (Harry) tried to get more details, the man said he couldn’t say more as he could get in some real trouble." But Koch definitely would care if he had, at the direction of the KGB, installed programs on computers at Zurich and Oxford laboratories, and the KGB found out that Koch was telling others about it. See future that the KGB murdered Koch, disguised as suicide, because they evidently discovered that Koch was telling others about his hacking of Zurich and Oxford's AMS computers at their direction.
• "Harry said the person said he also planned to call other Shroud researchers, but as far as we know, no one ever did." It is likely that Koch had read the criticism of the 13 October 1988 announcement that the Shroud's radiocarbon date was "1260-1390!"[09Jan14] by Germany's Prof. Werner Bulst (1913-95):
"For some Shroud supporters in continental Europe, for instance, the chief defence offered was that it was the radiocarbon dating, not the Shroud, that must be the fraud ... even distinguished European Shroud scholars such as the Jesuit Professor Werner Bulst ... became persuaded to follow some variant ... of this ..."[WI98, 8-9].
and may have contacted him. If so, it may have been why Koch was murdered by the KGB (see
below).
• "Harry has wondered over the years whether the call itself could have been a fraud," See the following above against the caller having been a hoaxer (or fraudster): - That this caller made such an impression on "Harry" that he told other Shroud researchers about it, is significant because "Harry" would not be easily impressed by a hoax caller[above]. - A hoaxer would not likely have phoned "Harry" about 1:30 in the morning[above]. - a hoaxer would not likely have phoned "Harry" 2 weeks or more after the 16th of February 1989 Nature article was published[above]. - A hoaxer would not really have been "distraught" because it is an impossible claim that he "had been "involved in falsifying the results of the 1988 dating"[above]. - A hoaxer would not have claimed that "he had been involved in falsifying the results of the 1988 dating" because it would be impossible for a staff member at one of the laboratories to falsify the results of the other two laboratories[above]. - A hoaxer would not likely have affected a German accent. If the hoaxer was German that could explain his knowing about the three German hackers prosecuted for "espionage" but that had nothing to do with the Shroud! - A hoaxer would likely have told "Harry" that he was a staff member of one of the three radiocarbon dating laboratories, to support his claim that he had been involved in falsifying the Shroud's 1988 radiocarbon dating[above]. - It is unlikely that a hoaxer would beg a Shroud author for forgiveness for "falsifying the results of the [Shroud's]1988 dating"[above].
• "but he is firm that the person sounded distraught to the point that Harry said he wouldn't have been surprised if the guy would have said `I've got a gun and I'm going to shoot myself.'" See above that it would be hard for a hoaxer who is not a trained actor to sound so distraught that it would leave a lasting impression on "Harry." And see above that a hoaxer would not be "distraught" at all, let alone giving "Harry" the impression he was suicidal. But Koch would have been distraught. Not only had he become a Christian[above] and realised he had hacked Zurich and Oxford's radiocarbon datings[above]; but he was in legal jeopardy by not confessing under West Germany's amnesty that he had hacked those Shroud datings[above]; and the KGB would have threatened to kill Koch if it found out that he had told others about its hacking[above]! Which it did (see future).
• "Even now, Harry just isn't sure what to think." The problem is that "Harry" and other Shroudies, are unaware of Koch's `hacker world'. And the `hacker world,' to which Koch's `suicide' remains an insoluble mystery, is not aware of the `Shroud world.' To remedy this from the `Shroud world' side, I recommend to Shroudies (including "Harry" if you are reading this), that you read, Clough, B. & Mungo, P., 1992, "Approaching Zero: Data Crime and the Computer," Faber & Faber: London; and Hafner, K. & Markoff, J., 1991, "Cyberpunk: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier," Corgi: London, reprinted, 1993.
■ Koch and Linick's `suicides'
• Koch's murder by the KGB disguised as suicide Before noon on 23 May 1989, Koch left his workplace at the Hanover office of Germany's Christian Democratic Union party, in his employer's vehicle, to deliver a package to a government office in Hanover, but he never arrived. In the late afternoon, Koch's employer notified the police of his disappearance. Koch's friends and the German domestic security agency (BFV) sent out search parties looking for Koch but after a week the searches were abandoned. On or about 30 May a farmer who had been checking his irrigation daily noticed a car parked in the adjoining forest near the village of Ohof, about 49 km (30 mi) north east of Hanover. After a few days in a row, when he saw that the car was still there, he called the police, on 1 June[21Jul14; 17May15; 02Jun16; KKW].
The police investigated the report that day and found that the car's
[Left (enlarge [FP14]): Partially burnt forest trees from the gasoline fire which killed Karl Koch. Note that a fire which can partially burn dry trees would not go out until all the wood was burned, unless it was controlled by one or more persons each using a fire extinguisher (water would not exinguish a gasoline fire). But Koch couldn't have extinguished the gasoline fire which killed him and there was no fire extinguisher at the scene. Also, the gasoline can wouldn't be next to Koch's corpse if he had poured its contents over himself and then lit a match. The can would have exploded from the gasoline vapour inside it and, if it was found, it would have been many metres away from Koch's burnt body. So the can must have been put next to Koch's burnt body after the flames had been extinguished. Then there are Koch's missing shoes and his car covered with dust (see below). Death by burning alive was a KGB punishment for traitors. Therefore Koch's death was murder, disguised as suicide, by the KGB, as punishment for his telling others of the KGB's own hacking: the Shroud's 1260-1390 radiocarbon date!]
roof, hood and windscreen were thick with dust, looking like it had been there for years. In the undergrowth near the car, the police found a charred corpse lying next to an empty gasoline can. He was lying face down with an arm over his head as though trying to shield himself from the flames. The vegetation in the surrounding three or four metres had been burned black. The police concluded that the driver of the car had committed suicide. by pouring the contents of the gasoline can over himself, soaking the surrounding earth as well, lit a match, and was burned to death. The police noted that the corpse was barefoot but no shoes were found in the car or in the surrounding area. They were puzzled, because there had been no rain for five weeks and the undergrowth was as dry as matchwood, yet the scorched patch around the body was contained, as if it had been carefully controlled. The body was later identified as that of Karl Koch[21Jul14; 17May15; 02Jun16; KKW].
When I am in Heaven I will seek out Karl Koch. I will tell him that I told his story on the Internet (he will like that). That his word "espionage" to "Harry," far from falsifying the Shroud, proved beyond reasonable doubt that the 1260-1390 radiocarbon date of the Shroud was computer-generated by the program of an Arizona radiocarbon dating laboratory physicist Timothy W. Linick (1946-89) (he may not have known that), and so the Shroud really is the burial sheet of Jesus! And that Linick was also murdered, disguised as suicide, by the KGB (see next), to stop him from reacting to news of Koch's death by telling others of his hacking of the Shroud's dating for the KGB. Finally I will tell Karl that his terror and pain of being burned alive by the KGB will have been avenged by Jesus (Rom 12:19; Rev 6:9-11). Whoever did it will feel the pain that he felt, according to the divine principle: "As you have done, it shall be done to you" (Ob 1:15)!
• Linick's murder by the KGB disguised as suicide [05Jul14; 03Sep14; 31Mar15; 22Feb16; 18Sep17; 22Oct17; 03Aug19]; 09Jan21; 03Feb21; 21Mar23]. On 4 June 1989, the dead body of Timothy Linick was found 
[Right[03Sep14]: Photograph of Linick and report that "He died at the age of forty-two on 4 June 1989, in very unclear circum-stances." This is consistent with my theory that the KGB executed confessed KGB hacker Karl Koch between 23 and 30 May 1989, and Linick the day after Hanover police had publicly released the identity of a burnt body as Koch's on 3 June 1989, to prevent them revealing that the radiocarbon dating of the Shroud to 1260-1390 was the result of a KGB-sponsored computer hacking by Linick, aided by Koch],
in Tucson, Arizona[05Jul14; 03Sep14; 31Mar15; 30Jun15; 22Feb16; 03Aug19; 21Mar23]. It was the day after Hanover police had on 3 June 1989 publicly identified as Karl Koch the burnt body found on the edge of a forest on 1 June (see above)[31Mar14; 03Sep14; 02Jun16; 22Feb16; 27May19].
Linick's autopsy report stated that he had "apparently shot himself in the head" (my emphasis)[03Feb21]. Linick suffered from depression[30Dec15; 09Jan21; 03Feb21] and he had in the past threatened to kill himself[09Jan21], so it was assumed that he had committed suicide[09Jan21|. However, Linick was being treated for his depression, which would have reduced the risk of him committing suicide[03Feb21].. Although the police report, is no longer available, presumably Linick was living alone (Linick and his wife had separated[09Jan21]) and the external doors were locked, with no sign of forced entry and nothing had been stolen, otherwise the police would not have assumed that Linick's death was suicide. However, there must have been reason in the police report to think that Linick may have been murdered because Paul Damon (1921-2005), an Arizona Laboratory leader, let it slip that Linick had "possibly committed suicide (my emphasis)[09Jan21]. But it was impossible that Linick had committed suicide, because the autopsy report states that Linick was shot in the right side of his head[03Feb21] (presumably by a gun held in his right hand) and the bullet passed through Linick's brain and exited the left side of his head[03Feb21]. Yet "Clenched within the left hand is a blood stained white tissue" (my emphasis). Linick's autopsy
[Above (enlarge): Extract of page 4 of Linick's autopsy report (see the full page 4 at 03Feb21), with "3) Clenched within the left hand is a blood stained white tissue" bordered in red.]
report is very thorough and mentions on Linick's body a "faint purple-yellow 3.5 x 2.5 contusion," so it would certainly have mentioned a source of recent blood which could have stained the tissue if there had been one[03Feb21]. It obviously is impossible that Linick could have, after a bullet had passed through his brain, mopped blood from his head wound with a tissue in his left hand[03Feb21]. See "Homicides Disguised as Staged Suicides" where a man was found dead by a gunshot to his head, and it was assumed to be suicide until it was discovered that his hands were clasped together, when it became homicide:
"As there was no possible way for the decedent to have folded his hands after shooting himself through the brain, the MOD [manner of death] was ruled `homicide'"[PS20]
Page 5 of the autopsy report under "Extremities" mentions that "a black material is focally [
limited to a specific area or spot] over the palm of the left hand especially over the left index finger"[
03Feb21].
[Above (enlarge): Extract of page 5 of Linick's autopsy report (see the full page 5 at 03Feb21), with "a black material is focally over the palm of the left hand especially over the left index finger" bordered in red.]
The report doesn't say what this "black material" was, but it wasn't a bandage covering a wound or supporting a fracture, because the autopsy report would have mentioned it. And that it remained in place on Linick's palm and index finger all through his body being put in a body bag and placed on an autopsy cart, can only mean it was stuck on. Since Linick would have been unlikely to go to bed with a piece of black tape stuck on his palm and index finger, it must have been a remnant of black adhesive tape that the KGB executioners had used to tie Linick's left hand, presumably to his bed, to make it easier to force him to hold a gun in his right hand to his head and pull the trigger, in a murder disguised as suicide[03Feb21]!
The last page 10 of Linick's autopsy report, under "Urine TLC Results," revealed that Linick's urine contained traces of benzodiazepines, which are minor tranquillisers to relieve stress and anxiety and to help people sleep[03Feb21]. Likely it was the benzodiazepine diazepam (Valium), so Linick might have been too drugged to realise what was happening to him[03Feb21].
So Linick was murdered, disguised as suicide, as Koch had been 13 days before (above)! And it must have been by the KGB, because it would have had the skill to enter Linick's locked room, and the motive to silence Linick before he had heard about Koch's horrific death and told others that the KGB had done it and why.
To be continued in the next Part 6 "Objections answered and conclusion" of this series.
Notes:
1. This post is copyright. I grant permission to extract or quote from any part of it (but not the whole post), provided the extract or quote includes a reference citing my name, its title, its date, and a hyperlink back to this page.
Bibliography
FP14. "Cliff Stoll visiting Karl Koch's death forest," FirstPost, 2014 (no longer online).
JJ11. Jewell, J., 2011, "The Most Famous Footprint Ever," The Western Tradition.
KKW. "Karl Koch (hacker)," Wikipedia, 21 May 2025.
PS20. Prahlow, S., et al., 2020, "Homicides Disguised as Staged Suicides," Academic Forensic Pathology, 10(2), November 25, 104–112.
RTB. Reference(s) to be provided.
WI98. Wilson, I., 1998, "The Blood and the Shroud: New Evidence that the World's Most Sacred Relic is Real," Simon & Schuster: New York NY.
Posted 14 May 2025. Updated 18 June 2025.
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