Multiple bombing murders by James Genrich

In any serial case, it’s often initially unknown that the same perpetrator is committing multiple crimes. This is typically postulated when the evidence begins to connect the incidents. But before police jump to any conclusions, they typically have to consider “copycats”. The copycat phenomenon baffles me. It’s like someone is sitting at home, contemplating a terrible act – often felonious. But they’re only emboldened when they see someone else commit a similar act first? I’m guessing it might have something to do with the notoriety the initial offender gets. I blame the media for developing a narrative about the criminal trash. It is possible to report the news without sensationalizing the offender.

Mr. Jerry Taylor was the ATF’s explosives expert, and he was a great interview. He carried the entire episode, acting as detective, psychologist, and occasionally comic relief. I’ve seen Mr. Taylor on other crime series, most memorable being Cold Case Files. He was also featured in multiple other episodes – once I catalog some of these, I might try to build a Forensic Experts page for Jerry Taylor.

Image credit: Episode screen capture from Forensic Files

In this episode, James Genrich’s arrest history was discussed. I wasn’t sure if the three citations shown represented the entirety of his crimes, but they didn’t seem egregious. None were violent crimes, and while the second degree residential burglary was the worst, it’d happened back in 1982. Genrich’s only crimes eight years afterwards were the two misdemeanor vandalisms. But this certainly doesn’t rule out any crimes that James Genrich had committed without being discovered by the police.

There was a focus about the mental state of an individual who’s willing to carry an armed bomb to its destination. The perpetrator had used mercury switches, and these are sensitive to the position of the apparatus. Moving or even jarring the bomb in the wrong way may inadvertently set it off. Given the moderate knowledge of electronics needed to make a motion-triggered device, one would think building a simple “arming” switch into the circuit would makes sense. In the episode Wired for Disaster (s10e40), Dale Fosdick had taken his bomb to his victim’s house to complete its construction in her basement. But thankfully, most bomb-makers aren’t always the cleverest bunch. Recall how Mark Hofmann was injured in the episode Postal Mortem (s02e11).

Image credit: Episode screen capture from Forensic Files

It seems the ideas expressed in James Genrich’s “To whom it may concern” letter became significant evidence against him, if only circumstantial. He attempted to explain the letter with the idea that a therapist urged its writing as an expressive exercise. It seems this would’ve been easy to confirm, either by the prosecutor to dismiss the notion, or by the defense to shore up his explanation. Either way, the letter certainly contained some disturbing thoughts:

• Valentine’s Day is coming and I still don’t have a sweetheart.
• All I wanted was a girlfriend, but these girls won’t talk to me.
• If you won’t help me find a girlfriend, then I’ll have to kill some poor, innocent stranger tonight.
• These bitches still won’t even talk to me. If I can’t be happy, I might as well kill one.

Had the term been around in 1991, I’m sure James Genrich would’ve been able to identify as “incel”. I’d only learned of this word a week before this content was written, and it seemed to fit perfectly. One would want to be able to tell Genrich that there are in fact girls who might be into you – maybe you’re pursuing the wrong ones. Or that one doesn’t need a mate in their life to find happiness. But it seems certain that Genrich suffers from mental illness or instability. One wonders if he’d been prescribed medication and if he was taking it regularly.

In several episodes, I’ve seen where the police make no effort in concealing their surveillance of the suspect. In fact, they hope to rattle their suspect by making it clear that they’re investigating him and hoping he makes a mistake or leads them to additional evidence. But after really only claiming the letter from Genrich’s boarding room during their initial search, police must’ve been frustrated after following him for three-plus months and finding nothing additional. Which begs the question: Why hadn’t the police seized the various tools from Genrich’s room after failing to locate other evidence? At least their surveillance demonstrated an important fact pattern: No additional bombings had occurred.

Image credit: Episode screen capture from Forensic Files

The YouTube comment thread had a number of folks who truly seemed to believe that James Genrich was not guilty, or at least that the evidence used in his conviction was questionable. I’ve contemplated this, and while I believe that the tool-markings on the pipe fragments and wires strongly implicate him, there’s at least a shortage of cut-and-dry evidence. It’s probably no coincidence that the Grand Junction bombings ceased once Genrich was arrested. But typically, investigators are able to find gun powder residue, various materials used for bomb-making, or receipts indicate the purchase of such. But none of these were discovered in Genrich’s room. Had he really done that thorough a job in his clean-up? And did he have warning that the police were considering him as a suspect? I hope the media didn’t leak the information.

I’ll close this one with a couple of bonus questions to ponder:

• When the first bomb exploded, Dennis Lamb was 30 yards away. So whose vehicle had the bomb been on/with? Since it was motion-activated, why had it detonated?
• In the “To whom it may concern” letter, James Genrich states, “If you won’t help me find a girlfriend…” Who is he referring to as ‘you’ in this context? Who’s supposed to help him find a girlfriend?

Where is James Genrich now in 2024?

Image credit: The Denver Post web site

In January 2022, The Denver Post reported that James Genrich was seeking a new trial. Recall the physical evidence that led to his conviction in 1993 was solely the tool-markings. Investigators identified three separate tools owned by Genrich were linked to fragments discovered at the bombing sites. Even at the time, this evidence was suspect – the judge had found the prosecution on contempt after they refused to turn their tool-mark evidence over to the defense. Additional evidence such as gunpowder, bomb-making paraphernalia or schematics was never located. And Genrich was never found making or talking about bombs, neither when we was trailed by police nor when his parents wore secret a recording device.

A 2009 National Academy of Sciences report called into question the accuracy of tool-mark analysis claiming, "the practice of tool-mark analysis was not scientifically validated and could lead to incorrect conclusions." But the Mesa County prosecutor stands by their evidence and conviction from nearly 30 years ago.