In December of 1989, federal court judge Robert Vance and his wife were preparing for the

busy Christmas holiday.

Who sent the box?

I don't know, doesn't say.

Robert was a delivery.

He never expected.

Robert and Helen Vance lived with their family in an affluent suburb of Birmingham, Alabama.

For more than a decade, Robert Vance had been a federal court judge for the 11th district,

residing over cases from Alabama, Georgia, and Florida.

He was very bright.

Not only the book smart, kind of bright, but he had just amazing common sense, street

smarts.

Judge Vance undoubtedly had his share of enemies, but had never received any threats, which

explains why he wasn't suspicious of the package mailed to him a few days before Christmas.

The package contained a pipe bomb, with nails wrapped around the pipe which acted like

shrapnel.

The blast killed Judge Vance instantly, his body was thrown clear across the kitchen.

Miraculously, Helen Vance survived the explosion, and she was able to get to a neighbor's home

for help.

Mom suffered some severe injuries from the explosion.

She had several cuts in the flesh from the nails that had the bomb had been bound with.

She had had several internal injuries from nails actually penetrating the body, including

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