Edgar Eugene Pearce (born 1937–38) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

ist and bomber who was convicted of the Mardi Gra bombings, a three-year blackmail and terror campaign in the

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

area between December 1994 and April 1998.

Early life

Pearce grew up in

Leyton Leyton () is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the River L ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

. At the age of 11, he went to Nelson House preparatory school in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. His parents were unable to pay the fees, and three years later he came back to the family home and attended Norlington Boys' School in Leyton. Pearce attended there for two years before leaving, at age 16, to go into the advertising industry.

Mardi Gra bombings

After a dispute with Barclays Bank, Pearce targeted six different branches on 6 December 1994 with home-made bombs. Two of them, in Hampstead and

Ladbroke Grove Ladbroke Grove () is an area and a road in West London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, passing through Kensal Green and Notting Hill, running north–south between Harrow Road and Holland Park Avenue. It is also a name given ...

, exploded, injuring two members of staff. From May 1995, Pearce was randomly sending bombs to different targets and addresses, including one to the

Barclaycard Barclaycard (; stylized as barclaycard) is a brand for credit cards of Barclays PLC. , Barclays had over ten million customers in the United Kingdom. History Barclays launched Barclaycard on 29 June 1966, initially as a charge card, but followi ...

headquarters in Northampton with a blackmail demand. In 1996 he targeted Barclays banks again, exploding two devices in the Ealing branch and one in

Eltham Eltham ( ) is a district of southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three wards of E ...

from January to April. Three civilian injuries were caused by the last one in Ealing on 20 April. After 17 months of inactivity, Pearce resumed his blackmailing and bombing campaign, this time targeting

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company ...

supermarkets, in the hope of obtaining money from them. He targeted five branches in November 1997 in the west and south-east London. A 73-year-old woman accidentally picked up a device left in

West Ealing West Ealing is a district in the London Borough of Ealing, in West London. The district is about west of Ealing Broadway. Although there is a long history of settlement in the area, West Ealing in its present form is less than one hundred years ...

with her shopping. His last attack was in Eltham, south-east London, on 17 April 1998. In total, he planted 36 devices. At the time he was unemployed and divorced, living in the affluent Chiswick area of west London. Police believed the suspect was acting alone and possibly influenced by

Ted Kaczynski Theodore John Kaczynski ( ; born May 22, 1942), also known as the Unabomber (), is an American domestic terrorist and former mathematics professor. Between 1978 and 1995, Kaczynski killed three people and injured 23 others in a nationwide ...

, who was being sentenced in America at the time. On 28 April 1998, Pearce was arrested in Whitton, south-west London, after falling into a police trap whilst withdrawing cash, as his account was linked and being watched by the police. At his Chiswick home, police found home-made bombs. His terror campaign cost Sainsbury's £640,000 in lost trade. Lawyers acting for Pearce claimed he suffers from

Binswanger's disease Binswanger's disease, also known as subcortical leukoencephalopathy and subcortical arteriosclerotic encephalopathy, is a form of small-vessel vascular dementia caused by damage to the white brain matter. White matter atrophy can be caused by man ...

, a rare form of

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

that can change the way people think. But following further medical reports, the judges at the Old Bailey rejected this. On 14 April 1999, he was convicted of 20 charges including causing an explosion, possessing firearms and wounding, and was sentenced to jail terms totaling 224 years, most to be served concurrently, resulting in 21 years of imprisonment. Pearce was labeled the ''Mardi Gra'' bomber because he often left a calling card containing the phrase "Welcome to the Mardi Gra experience".

References

External links

BBC - Mardi Gra bomber jailed

BBC - How Mardi Gra was stung

BBC - Mardi Gra bomber missing brain part claim
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearce, Edgar 1930s births Date of birth missing (living people) Living people English criminals English prisoners and detainees Extortionists People from Leyton Place of birth missing (living people) Prisoners and detainees of England and Wales Improvised explosive device bombings in London Bombers (people) Serial bombers