Jewell died of heart disease

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Aug 31, 2007

ATLANTA (AP) -- Former security guard Richard Jewell, who was wrongly called "the focus" of the investigation in the deadly bombing at the 1996 Summer Olympics, died of severe heart disease, Georgia's chief medical examiner said Thursday.

An autopsy by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation showed Jewell, 44, essentially had a heart attack, Dr. Kris Sperry said. He said Jewell's diabetes, diagnosed earlier this year, contributed to the heart problems.

Jewell was found dead Wednesday at his west Georgia home.

Sperry said the GBI planned toxicology tests because of the notoriety of the Jewell case so there "won't be any open questions at the end of the day."

There was no evidence drugs or alcohol contributed to Jewell's death, Sperry said.

For two days after the July 27, 1996, bombing at Centennial Olympic Park, Jewell was hailed as a hero for spotting a suspicious backpack and moving people out of harm's way just before the explosion killed one and injured 111.

But on the third day, an unattributed report in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution described him as "the focus" of the investigation.

Other media, to varying degrees, also linked Jewell to the investigation and portrayed him as a loser and law-enforcement wannabe who may have planted the bomb so he would look like a hero when he discovered it later.

The Associated Press, citing an anonymous federal law enforcement source, said after the Journal-Constitution report that Jewell was "a focus" of investigators but that others had "not yet been ruled out as potential suspects."

Jewell was never arrested or charged, although he was questioned and was a subject of search warrants.

The bomber turned out to be anti-government extremist Eric Rudolph.

Jewell sued several media organizations and settled for undisclosed amounts.

A suit he filed against the Journal-Constitution is set for trial in January. The newspaper has stood by its coverage.