Debian Linux Founder, Ian Murdock (1973 to 2015) Killed Himself
Debian Linux founder, Ian Murdock died. Seems he killed himself.
(i'm updating the page as i learn more)
Ian Murdock's Last Few Tweets
twitter raw text. Ordered by time.
- 5:13pm: i'm committing suicide tonight.. do not intervene as i have many stories to tell and do not want them to die with me #debian #runnerkristy67
- 5:14pm: watch my blog later http://ianmurdock.com
- 5:17pm: https://t.co/I1CSCJErWf
- 5:20pm: I'll write more on my blog later. But the police here beat me up for knowing on my neighbor's door.. they sent me to the hospital.
- 5:20pm: Then beat me up some more.
- 5:21pm: My bail for "assault against a police officer" are all that: $25,000.
- 5:22pm: I'll write more much later. They still don't have cameras on all police so I'm going to use my somewhat celebrity to hopefully stop this.
- 5:23pm: Quote: "We're the police, we always win."
- 5:25pm: My career is over now, so I'll be gone soon.
- 5:27pm: Maybe my suicide at this, you now, a successful business man, not a NIGGER, will finally bring some attention to this very serious issue.
- 5:30pm: I'm not committing suicide today. I'll write this all up first, so the police brutality ENDEMIC in this so call free country will be known.
- 5:34pm: if anyone wants to come over and see what the police did to me i would be more than happy for that
- 5:35pm: they beat the shit out of me twice, then charged me $25,000 to get out of jail for battery against THEM
- 5:36pm: i had to go to the hospital
- 5:36pm: they followed me home
- 5:36pm: then they pulled me out of my house and did it again
- 5:37pm: i had to have swtitches
- 5:37pm: then followed my home from there
- 5:38pm: i asked if they had cameras
- 5:38pm: they said no
- 5:45pm: shall i post pictures for all my bruises from my against the police officers?
- 5:45pm: where they put you in a cell with absolutely no instructions whatever aside from the spell on the floor in piss?
- 5:48pm: Writing up my experience for others to hopefully prevent others from police abuse then you won't hear from me again
- 6:00pm: @jacksormwriter wants me dead
- 6:06pm: i'm going to post my case on my blog.. if anyone can post it on hacker news or wherever i would apprieciate it
- 6:07pm: i'm hoping coming from a successful white guy it will help everyone
- 6:31pm: (1/2) The rest of my life will be devoted to fighting against police abuse.. I'm white, I made $1.4 million last year,
- 6:33pm: (2/2) They are uneducated, bitter, and and only interested in power for its own sake. Contact me imurdock@imurdock.com if you can help. -ian
- 6:41pm: The police are uneducated, evil, and sadistic. Do not trust them.
- 6:42pm: The rest of my life is to fight against the police.. they are NOT friends, so don't ever ever believe otherwise.
- 6:49pm: What does one have to get education wise to become a police officer.. asking for a friend.
- 7:03pm: "We're the police, we can do whatever the fuck we want.."
- 7:08pm: This was right after the female officer ripped off my underwear.. I guess that's not considered rape if you're not a woman being raped.
- 7:12pm: I am a white male, make a lot money, pay a lot of money in taxes, and yet their abuse is equally doned out. DO NOT CROSS THEM!
Notes:
- in 5:13pm, he used hashtag “#runnerkristy67”. What does that mean?
- in 5:14pm, he said watch his blog “http://ianmurdock.com”. Apparently, he didn't post anything related to this.
- in 5:17pm: he linked “https://t.co/I1CSCJErWf”, which resolves to a youtube video [Kerouac - October in the Railroad Earth By Merizobeach. At https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hjPZpaXNsw ] , which is a reading of a free verse of the same title by poet Jack Kerouac (1922 to 1969).
Complete Archived Tweet
from at least 2016 May 29
Proof of Police Arrest
Who is “@jacksormwriter wants me dead”
notes:
- twitter account @jackstormwriter is now private, as of .
- the head photo of @jackstormwriter seems to be a random biker photo.
- @jackstormwriter does not seem to be a bad guy.
Seems to be the same person as @writershorde, whose account has also been recently deleted.
Archive.is for longevity:
- @jackstormwriter https://archive.is/doJTE
- @jackstormwriter commenting on @imurdock's tweet https://archive.is/KTesC
- @writershorde https://archive.is/oqN9i
writershorde.wordpress https://archive.is/qv8aG
— from throwaway20325 , https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10813998
Chiming in on here...
I reverse image searched his Twitter pic, it's a stock photo from an online retail (clothing) store:
http://tineye.com/search/057213bd41c8c6bb258d9f6836bf57e1c4e7a703/
— from AnarchyAo, , https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10813998
News Report
i don't know the source of following.
The cause of death is not known at this stage, but it is not believed to be suspicious. A spokesperson for Docker said it was a “private matter.”
According to the San Francisco police, officers were called to Steiner and Union St in the city at 11.30pm on Saturday, December 26, following reports of a man trying to break into a home – that man was identified as Ian Murdock. He reportedly fought with the cops, and was given a ticket for two counts of assault and one for obstruction of an officer. The techie had been drinking, according to the police logs. A medic arrived to treat an abrasion to Murdock's forehead, and he was released so he could be taken to hospital.
A few hours later, on Sunday, December 27 at 2.40am, police were called again to reports of Murdock banging on the door of a neighbor at the very same block. A medic arrived to treat him for any injuries at the scene. Next, the cops took Murdock to the county jail where he was held in a cell.
Murdock was bailed later that day, on Sunday, after a bond, said to be $25,000, was paid. He died the next day.
His family has asked people to respect their privacy during this difficult time.
- Wikipedia Ian Murdock
- https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/3ytdsi/ian_murdock_creator_of_debian_has_died/
- https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10813524
2017-04-10 addendum
this seems to be the cause. Not sure how reliable it is.
A neighbor told the city's investigators that Murdock had just split up with his girlfriend and was facing eviction. The Linux pioneer had a fiery relationship with his partner, the neighbor claimed, and he was “a known drinker” who “can get ‘out of control’ from time to time.” Murdock's sister told officials he had had “psychological issues for about 20 years.”
[Debian founder Ian Murdock killed himself – SF medical examiner By Chris Williams. At https://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/07/07/ian_murdock_autopsy/ , accessed on 2017-04-10 ]
also see
To those of you who blame the police he encountered twice before his suicide: not this time. Ian died a victim of mental illness.
It's horrible that such a genius, someone who did so much good, went through that disease and had such a meaningless, unfair, undignified death.
from [Ian Murdock dead By Bruce Perens. At http://perens.com/blog/2015/12/31/ian-murdock-dead/ , accessed on 2017-04-10 ]
Bruce Perens is a early figure in the free software community. I can trust what he says about this.