Why A Car Bomb?

Kill Brother, Kill Sister: Episode Three

Podcast: Episode Three – Why A Car Bomb?
Apple Podcasts: Episode Three – Why A Car Bomb?
Schedule: Tuesday, Thursday

The question of the day, of the week, of the month was: Why a car bomb? We know – from U.S. crime statistics – that when a woman is murdered, several things are true. First, her killer is most likely a husband, an ex-husband or an intimate acquaintance. That last one… Quaint. A stand-in for… You know. Lovers. In fact, female murder victims are almost six times more likely than male murder victims to be killed by someone with whom they’re intimate. [1]

Who’da thunk it?

Ok. There’s more. Often it’s because the male partner has an “inability to accept what they perceive to be a rejection of them or their role of dominance over their eventual victim.” That’s a mouthful. But a walkout or threat of separation is especially provoking, representing “intolerable desertion, rejection, or abandonment.” Unsurprisingly, we often find that a gun is involved – handgun, pistol, rifle. In second place? A knife. And then… hands and fists. The built-in weapons, there by default. [2]

All of which, by the way, points to an emotional, perhaps long-festering act of revenge… Of domination, of control on the part of the aggressor. I’m not casting aspersions here. Really, I’m not.

Car Bomb Mystique

But a car bomb? That takes planning and skill. A methodical, step-by-step — and painstakingly careful — process. Which, perhaps, explains why U.S. Department of Justice homicide statistics through the early 2000’s show no car bombs at all. None. Doesn’t mean they didn’t happen. Just not often enough to be anything more than “unknown.”

In fact, when we think of a car bomb we tend to think it’s something political. Because, yeah. It happens. Like something from the Irish Republican Army, fighting for independence from the English. Or the Middle East and all that internecine warfare, Shia vs Sunni or attacks by Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Iraqi insurgents. 

But let’s not forget organized crime. By 1974, in fact, Cleveland, Ohio – Cleveland, Ohio – had become the leading site for car bombings in the U.S. The year 1975? It only got worse. The main cause? A gang war between Italian crime families and a group of Irish-American gangsters. And here’s the revelation: For these folks, the car bomb was THE preferred means of assassination because… Because evidence is destroyed in the blast, leaving police with no leads. And death? A sure thing. Usually instantaneous. So, yeah, your enemies start looking over their shoulders.

September 30, 1976

Now, let’s get back to that day in September. In the aftermath of the Muriel Pfeil bombing, ambulance and emergency personnel were on scene within two minutes. It was already too late. Police, troopers and federal investigators quickly followed, the crime scene now hosting a homicide investigation. The entire parking lot was cordoned off and within 30 minutes investigators were combing it, inch by inch, checking for bombs in other vehicles, a row of raised hoods marking their progress. Nothing was found except small metal fragments. It was mind-numbing work.

That wasn’t the only problem. Because of the bomb, there’d been an engine fire in Muriel’s Volvo. Local construction crews came by and dumped dirt to put it out, contaminating evidence. Then the fire department sprayed down the gas tank to prevent it from exploding. More contamination. You can hardly win this one. Can’t hardly win at all.

As time went on, and the bombed-out car was taken back to the police garage, more evidence was uncovered. One was particularly tantalizing: two wires in  the engine compartment. Two wires that didn’t seem to belong there. What did that mean? Well, maybe that was part of the car bomb planted there. Of course, you couldn’t assume that. Volvo experts had to weigh in, had to make a declaration. But for now… The buffet plate was only getting bigger.

Car Bomb in Fairbanks?

You gotta know that digging into this car bomb stuff ain’t easy. And once you see one car bomb, you start seeing them everywhere. In fact, police were soon investigating another car bombing in an abandoned small station wagon. In Fairbanks. Three hundred and fifty-eight miles to the north of Anchorage. But… They couldn’t ignore it. In fact, Anchorage police immediately started checking flight logs for everyone going between Anchorage and Fairbanks. Maybe someone was practicing for the Muriel Pfeil explosion. Maybe somebody they’d recognize. 

That wasn’t the only speculation. Or misapprehension. While the key-initiated ignition scenario was promising, there was at least one vexing complication. And once vexing complications rear their heads, they tend to proliferate.

One of those vexations was that Muriel had driven her car as recently as two hours before the blast, which meant that an ignition bomb had to have been installed during that narrow window between 12:30 p.m. and the 2:10 p.m. explosion. During which time the car was parked at a busy downtown corner. In broad daylight. Right? Right? Not so fast.

No Stones Unturned

And then… Other evidence seemed to point elsewhere. One investigator believed Muriel’s key was found on the floor mat. Not in the ignition. So? A timed device set to explode at a prearranged time? Which, in turn, led to speculation that perhaps the killer banked on her being out of the car – and in her office – during that interval.

In other words, perhaps the bomb was a scare tactic, meant to frighten her. They didn’t actually mean to kill her. Which… really? 

But the cops — the investigators — went there and then went even further. It was maybe a remote-controlled device, triggered away from the car. They had them in the 70s, so…. So it was possible. Yeah. Cops were canvassing nearby offices and hotel rooms, looking for a transmitting device. Door to door. Room to room. One team searched closets in a building less than a block away. It was coo-coo.

Alternate Car Bomb Theories

All of this begs the question: if there’s a bomb planted in the engine compartment, how did it get there? The hood of the Volvo opened from the inside. That’s an obstacle. But the officers, using a coat hanger on a similar Volvo, were able to reach through the engine compartment and quickly open the hood. 

Which leads me to my own theory about how it happened. It’s informed speculation, okay? But…  Plant the bomb on your own time, on your own schedule. Just plant it days in advance. If you know where Muriel lives, for example, it’s easy enough to open the hood of her parked car and plant the bomb. She lived on a quiet street with little traffic. Dress like a mechanic. Smear grease on your face…

Preinstalled:

And here’s the key: Plant the bomb, but don’t hook it up. Muriel could have been driving around for days with that damn bomb in her car. Now, there’s risks in this. Like being spotted. Like having it blow up when you least expect it.

But these were professionals. And under the circumstances, this approach made the most sense. It’s not complicated. No need for a remote, no need to spend a lot of time at the bomb site. You presumably know what time Muriel goes back and forth to get Scotty. She only does it two days a week. Tuesdays and Thursdays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. So have everything ready to go except for that single, final piece. 

Why those days? Because that’s when Muriel’s movements are the most predictable.

And then on the designated day… It’s Thursday. She’s there. No Scotty. Just connect the wires. That’s all that’s left. How long does that take? Boom, boom, boom, boom. An explosion. 

Coroner’s Inquest

We know some of these details because of the coroner’s inquest, conducted soon after Muriel’s death. That process was key to establishing a “sequence of events,” which we summarize here:

Muriel arrived at Professional Travel Service shortly after noon, told her workers she just bought a coat from a downtown department store – we’ll name it: Nordstrom — and, at about 2 p.m., went to get the coat. She returned to the office a few seconds later to get her keys because the vehicle was… Locked. 

Her employees testified that she was, quote, “gone longer than it would take to walk across and get into the car.” She should have been on her way back, but wasn’t. They also noted Muriel left behind her purse and glasses, which she usually wore when she drove. “She would never go out without her purse,” said employee Linda Buckman, who added, “she had no intention of going anywhere when she walked out the door. She had no intention of driving anywhere.” 

The inquest further revealed that the bomb blew off part of the engine, and bowed out the car’s doors, with “explosive injuries” that killed Muriel Pfeil instantly. Within seconds is what the autopsy report said. In fact, it didn’t even say that. It just said “seconds.”

[1] Zahn & Sagi, Stranger Homicides in Nine American Cities, Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, V. 78, Issue 2 Summer (1987)

[2] ibid

---

The Book: Kill Brother, Kill Sister

Kill Brother, Kill Sister is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other fine bookstores (paperback and ebook).

Copyright Leland E. Hale (2026)