Man charged in bombing of Palm Springs fertility clinic dies in prison
A man charged with aiding the bomber of a fertility clinic in California has died in federal custody just weeks after his arrest, prison officials said on Tuesday.
Daniel Park, 32, was accused of supplying chemicals to the bomber, Guy Edward Bartkus of California, who died in the 17 May explosion.
The two men connected in fringe online forums over their shared beliefs against human procreation, authorities told reporters Wednesday. The blast gutted the fertility clinic in Palm Springs and shattered the windows of nearby buildings, with officials calling the attack terrorism and possibly the largest bomb scene ever in southern California. The clinic was closed, and no embryos were damaged.
Park, of suburban Seattle, was found unresponsive in Metropolitan detention center in Los Angeles on Tuesday morning and was pronounced dead at the hospital, prison officials said. No cause of death was provided.
Park shipped 180lbs (82kg) of ammonium nitrate to Bartkus in January and bought another 90lbs (41kg) and had it shipped to him days before the explosion, authorities said. Park purchased ammonium nitrate online in several transactions between October 2022 and May 2025, according to a federal complaint.
Three days before Park visited him in January, Bartkus asked an AI chat application about explosives, detonation velocity, diesel and gasoline mixtures, the complaint said. The discussion centered on how to create the most powerful blast.
Authorities said Park traveled to California to experiment with the materials in the bomber's garage months before the attack.
Park was taken into custody at New York's John F Kennedy Airport, after he was extradited from Poland, where he fled to four days after the attack. Park had been charged with providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists.
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