U.S. Judge Killed by Mail Bomb, Wife Is Injured

A federal appeals judge was killed by a mail bomb that went off at his home Saturday afternoon and his wife was seriously wounded, authorities said.

U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Robert S. Vance, 58, died instantly when a package delivered to his home went off, FBI spokesman Chuck Steinmetz said.

It was believed to be only the third time during this century that a federal judge had been assassinated, officials said.

Vance had been involved in a “high volume of drug cases” and the FBI was investigating any link to cases of drug trafficking, FBI spokesman Tom Moore said.

The judge’s wife, Helen, was admitted to the emergency room at St. Vincent’s Hospital in serious condition with lacerations and internal injuries, a spokesman said.

While the FBI and other federal agencies began their investigation, the U.S. Marshals Service threw a protective net around Vance’s two adult sons and the approximately 10 appeals court judges in the 11th judicial circuit, which includes Alabama, Florida and Georgia, said Charles Cliver, chief clerk of the U.S. District Court in Birmingham.

Vance, the former chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party, was appointed to the appeals court by President Jimmy Carter in 1977.