The man accused of sending a bomb to his estranged wife’s Green River home in 1982 and blowing her finger off is sane enough to face trial on fraud charges, a magistrate ruled this week.
Stephen Craig Campbell, 77, was found mentally competent to stand trial Thursday after a hearing earlier this week. Prosecutors claim Campbell stole a dead friend’s identity to receive federal benefits.
“The Court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that Defendant is able to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him and can properly assist in his defense, and that the Defendant is competent to stand trial,” says a Thursday order by U.S. District Court Magistrate Gregory B. Wormuth, of New Mexico.
Campbell is charged in the New Mexico-based federal court with passport fraud on claims he stole $140,000 in Social Security benefits under the name of a dead classmate.
That case is ongoing, and the federal government has until May 20 to file an indictment against him, the magistrate’s Thursday order says.
Alleged Green River Bomber
Campbell is also accused in Sweetwater County of sending a bomb to his ex-wife’s new boyfriend’s house in Green River in 1982, causing a blast that blew off one of her fingers and injured her hand, chest, legs and feet.
Campbell was caught in New Mexico amid a dramatic standoff with law enforcement Feb. 19, 2025, more than 40 years after he bonded out of jail and skipped court in Wyoming on an attempted murder charge, authorities say.
But he’s slated to face the federal prosecution first.
Wormuth paused Campbell’s federal case in July and ordered him to have his mental competency checked and determine if he’s well enough to participate in his case.
The judge’s July order drew from a representation by Campbell’s defense counsel that “reasonable cause” existed to believe he has a mental disease or defect that could render him unable to understand court or help with his own defense.
If convicted on the fraud charge, Campbell faces up to 10 years in federal prison, then would be extradited to Wyoming to stand trial for the alleged bombing.
Attempted first-degree murder is punishable by a term of life in prison.
