Marvin Heemeyer
Building Rampager
Died when: 52 years 220 days (631 months)Star Sign: Scorpio
Marvin John Heemeyer (October 28, 1951 – June 4, 2004) was an automobile muffler repair shop owner who, following a dispute with town officials, demolished numerous buildings with a modified bulldozer in Granby, Colorado, on June 4, 2004.
Heemeyer had feuded with Granby town officials, particularly over fines for violating city health ordinances after he purchased property with no sewage system.
He had incurred the fines for improperly dumping sewage from his business instead of connecting to the city sewer system.
Over about eighteen months, Heemeyer had secretly modified a Komatsu D355A bulldozer by adding layers of steel and concrete, intended to serve as armor.
On June 4, 2004, Heemeyer's feud with Granby culminated in a spree in which he used the armored bulldozer to demolish the Granby town hall, the former mayor's house, and several other buildings.
Heemeyer's rampage concluded with his suicide, after his bulldozer became trapped in the basement of a hardware store he had been in the process of destroying.