OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — A new book aims to set the record straight on the murder of Omaha native Seth Rich. “A Death on W Street: The Murder of Seth Rich and the Age of Conspiracy” follows the life and death of Seth Rich, and his parents’ tireless battle to beat back the tide of conspiracies about his murder in Washington, D.C. in July 2016.
Rich was killed in what D.C. police believe was a botched robbery, but a suspect has yet to be identified. In the absence of answers, and after baseless speculation from Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, conspiracy theories about Seth leaking Democratic National Committee emails to the whistleblower organization proliferated around the internet. The baseless theories suppose Rich was killed in a political hit as a result.
Andy Kroll, author and ProPublica reporter, sat down with 3 News Now to talk about the book, Omaha’s role in the story, and the harrowing experience faced by his parents, Joel and Mary Rich, and his brother Aaron.
“I think Joel and Mary haven’t had their story fully told,” Kroll said. “The explosion of these online conspiracy theories that traveled from the deepest darkest corners of the internet to Fox News, into the White House, and to the CIA. Just this incredible, unbelievable story.”
In the book, Kroll details how the baseless claims that Seth leaked the emails, made it to Fox News, as part of an effort to absolve then-president Donald Trump of accusations of Russian collusion. As the conspiracy theories reached the highest halls of power in Washington, and the top of the media food chain in New York, the Rich family struggled at their home in Omaha to make sense of it all. At one point in the book, Kroll details the moment Aaron Rich told his mother “This is worse than when we lost Seth.”
“Omaha was a place where I felt like I could tell the story of what it was like to be a sort of normal, honest unassuming, humble Midwest family trying to navigate this world we live in,” Kroll said. “I wanted people to feel like they knew Joel and Mary Rich. The Rich family is the heart and soul of the book.”
The Rich family sued Fox News over their story, leading to an undisclosed settlement. Fox took down the story but never apologized. The Mueller report concluded Russia was involved with hacking into the DNC, obtaining the emails, and sending them to Wikileaks, not Seth.
“Talking about Seth, finding ways to remember him, finding other ways to tell people who never met him who he was, what he stood for, the values he cared about,” Kroll said. “I think those are each a small step closer to something like closure for the Riches.”
Kroll spoke about the book during an event at The Bookworm in Omaha on Thursday. Joel and Mary, and some of Seth's friends, sat in the crowd. Joel at one point added, "The truth won."
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