Part 53, page 102
Document date 15 December 1971
FBI 164-81, Vault Part 53 p. 102 (DB Cooper-22440), News clipping, dated 15 Dec 1971 — cooper.theunsolved.net/parts/Cooper-Part-53/pages/102
Transcript
The scan is the source; the transcript is machine-generated from it.
'Only 14 Months To Live'
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LOS ANGELES -- (UPI) -- A letter purportedly written by fugitive hijacker "D. B. Cooper" claims he parachuted into the night with $200,000 to buy peace of mind because he has only 14 months to live, the Los Angeles Times said yesterday.
The letter-writer said he lived a life of hate and is not a hero.
A number of letters, supposedly from "Cooper," have been received by newspapers throughout the West in recent weeks. It is not known if any are genuinely from the man who hijacked a Northwest Orient 727 Nov. 24, claiming to have a bomb.
He collected the ransom and parachuted out the rear door with it between Seattle and Reno, Nev.
The letter was mailed to the Los Angeles Times from Seattle Saturday and has been turned over to the FBI, the paper said. It quoted the letter:
"I didn't rob Northwest Orient because I thought it would be romantic, heroic or any of the other euphemisms that seem to attach themselves to situations of high risks.
"I am no modern-day Robinhood. "Unfortunately (I) do have only 14 months to live.
"My life has been one of hate, turmoil, hunger and more hate. This seemed to be the fastest and most profitable way to gain a few grains of peace of mind.
"I don't blame people for hating me for what I've done, nor do I blame anybody for wanting me to be caught and punished, though this can never happen."
The letter writer said he would never be caught because he left no fingerprints, wore a disguise, and employed other unspecified means to cover his trail.
He was wearing a toupee and putty makeup at the time of the hijacking and would be impossible to recognize from the composite picture drawn up by FBI artists from the descriptions of witnesses, according to the letter.
"I've come and gone on several airline flights and am not holed up in some obscure backwoods town," the letter says.
"Neither am I a psychopathic killer. As a matter of fact, I've never even received a speeding ticket."
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DB Cooper-22440