Plumlee and Sabbow

In the years since he started telling JFK assassination conspiracy stories, Plumlee has inserted himself in other contentious cases. For example, in November of 1990 Colonel James Sabbow of the United States Marine Corp was implicated in a scandal at MCAS El Toro, in which government aircraft were misused for personal travel, and relieved of all duties. On January 22, 1991, Sabbow was found dead in his back yard as the result of a shotgun blast to the head. The coroner and the NIS (Naval Investigative Service, now known as the Naval Criminal Investigative Service or NCIS) both concluded that the wound was self-inflicted and that Colonel Sabbow committed suicide. Of course, once this report was released conspiracists claimed that Sabbow was actually murdered to prevent him from revealing a government drug running scandal in Peru.

Plumlee and other conspiracists claimed that at MCAS El Toro, unmarked C-130’s were taking off and landing with illegal narcotics. In terms of Sabbow’s death, they claimed that due to lacerations on Sabbow’s tongue, aspirated blood in his right lung, and a hematoma on the back of his head Sabbow was knocked unconscious causing blood dripped into his right lung.  He then, supposedly, suffered a seizure causing him to bite his tongue, and then had a shot gun placed in his mouth and fired. As a result of this controversy, the Department of Defense Inspector General conducted a review of the case and published a report in 1996.

The Inspector General first concluded that Sabbow’s death was indeed a suicide for several reasons. First off, the lacerations on Sabbow’s tongue were located on the top center, which indicates that they are the result of the pressure and expulsion of gasses from the barrel of the shotgun and not a seizure. The lacerations caused by a seizure are always located on the outside edges of the tongue and not the top center. Secondly, the autopsy found that the Medulla Oblongata and the rest of the lower brain stem remained intact despite the destruction of the rest of the brain. The Medulla Oblongata is responsible for respiratory and other basic bodily functions. The forensic pathologist concluded that blood from the head ran down the trachea and into the right lung after the shot and because the Medulla Oblongata was still intact, Sabbow breathed  a few times before all functions ceased causing the blood in his lungs to become aspirated. Finally, the hematoma was concluded to be caused by the blast of the shot gun and not from a blunt force trauma.

Next, the drug running operation claims were deemed implausible due to lack of credible evidence. Of the 21 individuals interviewed about the possible illegal operations by the Inspector General, only one corroborated this story and they refused to name any other government agents or persons involved.

Once again, Plumlee has gone and inserted himself into a contentious issue for self-promotion and fame amongst conspiracists.