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FBI questions crash victims' families about mysterious luggage tag
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Web posted at: 8:30 p.m. EST
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Investigators probing the crash of TWA Flight 800 want to know more about a man named William Kabofovic, whose name was not on the passenger list but did turn up on a piece of luggage in the wreckage.
The FBI has been interviewing family members of the crash victims, asking if they recognize the name.
"I told them I never heard of him," said Richard Penzer, whose sister Judy died in the crash. Questioned by federal agents, Penzer said, "I assumed it had something to do with my sister. They never told me why they were interested in that person."
"They did not infer in any way that this man Kabofovic's bag was the reason the plane blew up. In fact, they suggested it may have been a bag borrowed by one of the TWA passengers," Aurelie Becker told CNN. Becker's daughter, Michelle, died in the crash.
Becker said the FBI showed her a photograph of a badly mangled beige canvas bag with a leather shoulder strap and trim and asked whether she recognized it.
"They didn't say where the blown up bag was located," said Mrs. Becker. "It was pretty well blown apart, but still recognizable as a bag."
According to Mrs. Becker, FBI agents did not suggest that bomb had been in the bag, nor that the bag in the photograph was the one with Mr. Kabofovic's name on it.
She said FBI agents asked a series of questions intended to rule out the possibility that a passenger might have been inadvertently part of a plot to destroy the plane. Among these were: did the passenger pack his or her own bags, did they carry a bag on board on behalf of someone else, did someone recently take out a life insurance policy in the name of the passenger, and did he or she have an ex-partner or spouse who would want to do them harm.
The FBI began interviewing family members after sending out a letter from FBI Assistant Director James Kallstrom asking for assistance in the investigation.
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