Editing Karl Koch (hacker) (section)

==Death==
In May 1989 Koch left his workplace in his car to go for lunch;{{when|date=May 2020}} when he had not returned by late afternoon, his employer reported him as a missing person.

German police were alerted to a long abandoned car in a forest near [[Celle]] on June 1, 1989. The remains of Koch—at this point just bones<ref name="Stoll">{{cite book |last=Stoll |first=Clifford |title=The Cuckoo's Egg}}</ref>—were discovered close by with a patch of scorched and burnt ground surrounding them and with his shoes missing. The scorched earth itself was controlled in a small circle around the corpse even though it had not rained in some time and the grass was perfectly dry.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}} 

Despite his death being officially ruled a suicide,<ref name="Phrack27">{{cite web
 | date=June 20, 1989
 | url = http://www.phrack.org/issues.html?issue=27&id=12#article
 | title = Phrack Inc. - Volume Three, Issue 27, File 12 of 12
 | publisher = [[Phrack]]
 | access-date = 2009-01-06
 | last=Knight Lightning
}}</ref><ref name="brain-pro">{{cite web
 | date=July 2002
 | url = https://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.brain-pro.de%2FSeiten%2Fhacker%2Fhacker.htm&langpair=de
 | title = Dead Hackers do not talk anymore! All that remains is the memory? (auto translate from German)
 | publisher = brain-pro
 | access-date = 2009-01-06
 | last=Marko Rogge
}}</ref> His death fueled conspiracy theories, with speculation ranging from suicide due to psychological struggles and drug addiction to retaliation by intelligence agencies. His death remains controversial, symbolizing both the dangers of hacking and the psychological toll of his lifestyle. Koch's story inspired books, films, and enduring myths about hackers and conspiracies.
<ref>{{cite web
 |title=Einer der ersten deutschen Hacker
 |url=https://www.spiegel.de/geschichte/karl-koch-alias-hagbard-celine-tod-eines-hackers-a-1268203.html
 |website=Spiegel Geschichte
 |publisher=Spiegel Gruppe
 |date=2019-05-23
 |access-date=2025-01-18
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Mungo |first1= Paul |last2=Clough |first2=Bryan |title=Approaching Zero: The Extraordinary Underworld of Hackers, Phreakers, Virus Writers, and Keyboard Criminals}}</ref> No suicide note was ever found.<ref name="Stoll"/>