David Kaczynski helped authorities identify his brother, Ted Kaczynski, as the “Unabomber,” the man who anonymously killed and injured Americans across the country using homemade explosives for 17 years starting in 1978.

Over the course of his bombing spree, Ted killed three people and injured at least 23 more. In 1995, The Washington Post and The New York Times published Ted’s notorious anti-technology manifesto. In it, David recognized phrases reminiscent of his brother’s writing style and contacted investigators about his suspicion that Ted may be the culprit.

In April 1996, Ted was arrested at his Montana cabin where authorities found substantial evidence that linked him to the bombings. He pleaded guilty to all charges related to the bombings and murders in 1998 and was sentenced to life in prison.

David’s role in Ted’s capture led to their estrangement. David sent dozens of letters to Ted while he was in prison for nearly three decades in an effort to reopen their communication, David told The New York Times in April 2025. Ted died by suicide in prison in June 2023.

So, where is David Kaczynski now? Here’s everything to know about where Ted Kaczynski’s brother is today after Ted’s unmasking as the “Unabomber” and death.

Who is David Kaczynski?

David is Ted’s younger brother by seven years, per NPR. The siblings grew up in Evergreen Park, Ill., and were raised by first-generation Polish Americans, per The New York Times.

David was an aspiring writer who graduated from Columbia University in 1970 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.

Growing up, the pair were close. “You were the best big brother I could have had when I was small, and beginning to form a sense of myself and the wider world,” David wrote in one of his letters to Ted in prison, per The New York Times. “I will always hold memories of your kindness close to my heart.”

While coming of age, David was curious about his brother’s lack of friends. He recalled in a 2009 interview with NPR that his mom believed it was partly due to an instance when Ted was hospitalized at nine months old that he somehow felt abandoned. He said she then told him, “David, don’t ever abandon your brother because that’s what he fears the most.”

Their bond continued into adulthood. David eventually went on to work at a zinc smelter in Montana, where he and Ted purchased the land Ted built his cabin on outside of Lincoln, Mont., according to the outlet. David lived in a different city about 90 miles away.

“Ted led me on hikes, whereas I led Ted in negotiating our social world, as modest as it was,” David told the publication. “Not sure I quite realized at the time just how important I’d become in Ted’s life as his best and only friend.”

David then worked as an English teacher in Iowa before taking time off to work on a novel in Texas and eventually moved to New York to live with Linda Patrik, whom he planned to wed. David’s marriage plans allegedly set Ted off, prompting Ted to cut all communication off with him, David told the outlet.