James Kopp, Class of 1972, was known as “Atomic Dog” in anti-abortion circles. He was convicted in 2003 of shooting New York abortion doctor Barnett Slepian, according to a Bark article from November of that year. He evaded the FBI for three years, and was finally arrested in France on March 29, 2001.

Allegedly, Kopp fired a single rifle shot through Slepian’s kitchen window at his house in Buffalo, New York. The bullet went through Slepian’s back and punctured his left lung. He died two hours later. Kopp, 46, was linked to the Buffalo murder by a strand of hair matching his DNA found at the crime scene, and rifle found buried behind his house.

He was linked to four other murders in the U.S. and Canada, but only charged with killing Slepian and Hugh Short, a Canadian obstetrician who also performed abortions.

Kopp was planning to return to the U.S. through Montreal at the time of his arrest. By tapping phone calls and e-mails of two anti-abortion activists, federal investigators were able to intercept Kopp.

The article reports that he was finally traced to France via an e-mail message on