Alphabet Bomber guilty of murder
Oct. 16, 1980: After six days of deliberations, a jury convicted Muharem Kurbegovic of first-degree murder for a 1974 bombing at Los Angeles International Airport that killed three people and injured 36 others.
The jury found the so-called Alphabet Bomber guilty on 25 counts of murder, arson, attempted murder, possession of explosive material and exploding a bomb, The Times reported.
Kurbegovic, 37, an immigrant from Yugoslavia, “acted as his own attorney during the eight-month trial,” The Times said.
“Kurbegovic was arrested on Aug. 20, 1974, two weeks after a powerful bomb was detonated at the airport,” the newspaper said. He was also charged with 1973 firebombings at the homes of two Los Angeles police commissioners and a municipal judge.
He was associated with a group called Aliens of America and was called the Alphabet Bomber “because of his scheme to explode bombs at locations alphabetically to spell out Aliens of America ‘until our name has been written on the face of this nation with blood,’ ” The Times reported.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
