Internet Buzzes with Conspiracy Theories: Is Ken Lay Really Dead?

When the national news reports emerged last week that Enron Corp. founder Kenneth Lay had died of a heart attack while vacationing in Aspen, CO, many people—particularly the people whose futures he had ruined—found it outrageous that the grim reaper had spared him from having to face his October 23 sentencing on his conviction for fraud and conspiracy. After the initial shock, despite a statement from the Colorado coroner who performed an autopsy, many people began to speculate about whether or not Lay really did die. It’s just a bit too convenient.

A posting to the blog of Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, said, "Some people will go to any lengths required to escape the joint. Besides, he is not hanging out with Elvis. He’s writing songs with Jim Morrison." Elvis Presley’s death in 1977 generated the same kind of disbelieving postulations, before the Internet was around to serve as a public sounding board. There are numerous websites featuring photos that, thanks to clever image editing wizardry, supposedly show Lay alive and well. One shows Lay running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. Another shows him disguised as a gnome, standing next to the Eiffel Tower. Lay’s own website has only his obituary, a lengthy paid missive published last week in the Houston Chronicle.

Another person posting on Adams’ site wrote, "I was a bit on the fence about faking his death/not faking his death ... until Colin Powell shows up in the exact same hospital a day or so later with airsickness. A big macho military guy like Powell goes to the hospital for airsickness? Please, does anybody buy that one? I'm sure Mr. Powell had a nice little package of new passports, ID and the escape plan all wrapped up in a secret folder to present to Kenny Boy." Powell had been in Aspen to take part in a panel discussion, and had to be treated for altitude sickness at the same hospital where Lay was pronounced dead the day before.

Steve Jones, head of the communications department at the University of Illinois, said that entertainers, celebrities, corporate executives, and even infamous felons are already larger than life, so they often become even more notorious in the afterlife. "Once they're gone, they're no longer in control of the stories we tell about them. Their telling of their own story stops, so we get to make things up. Sometimes it's downright fun to do that, and other times we're simply in disbelief," Jones said.

Lay’s lawyer, Michael Ramsey, seemed irritated by all of the Internet conspiracy buzz. "When I read the garbage that’s on the Internet, I’m reminded of the parable of the jackass kicking the dead lion," he told reporters after Lay’s memorial service in Houston on Wednesday. "I think that’s enough said."