Mike Connell, Karl Rove's IT guru--who was compelled six weeks ago to testify in an Ohio vote-tampering case--was killed late Friday night when his plane crashed into the garage of an empty house. Ohio's Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner had requested that Attorney General Mukasey put Connell and under Federal protection.
Per Cybrinth CEO Stephen Spoonamore, Connell was also considered "vital to uncovering the truth" about the missing White House emails considered a critical link to the Justice Department and White House's involvement in the firings of nine US attorneys.
According to Spoonamore, as reported by Rebecca Abrahams here at HuffPost, at an October 11, 2006 meeting between Spoonamore, Connell, and GovTech Solutions President Randy Cole--who ran and lost for State Representative in Ohio this election--
Connell asked him about ways to "permanently destroy hard drives." Spoonamore said "If this is what I think you're talking about, this meeting is over."
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board are on site today. Investigations typically take weeks and even months or longer to complete, according to an FAA spokeswoman.