Man who targeted wife in 1995 Raleigh office bombing receives longer prison sentence

A man convicted in a July 1995 bombing targeting his wife at an office building in north Raleigh will spend an additional 10 years in prison, according to U.S. Attorney Michael Easley.

According to court documents, in 1995, Stephen Bullis, now 58, mailed two pipe bombs to what was then the Business Telecom, Inc. (BTI) building, which was located on Six Forks Road near North Hills.

The first package was addressed to a BTI employee -- his wife at the time, Tracy Bullis. Tracy Bullis opened the package on July 10, 1995. It exploded, destroying most of her left hand and a portion of her upper right arm. The bomb also injured a coworker who was standing nearby.

Investigators learned that Stephen Bullis was having an affair with a clerk who worked at a video rental store and had started increasing the payout on his wife's life insurance policy. He also had recently purchased books about making explosive devices.

A statement from the DOJ reads, "In the month immediately before the attack, Bullis learned that his wife’s company had increased her work-funded life insurance policy and included a double-indemnity clause in the event of an accidental death. Statements made by Bullis indicated that he believed the accidental death needed to occur while his wife was at work for the double indemnity clause to apply."

The second explosive package was found weeks later, after Bullis' arrest, at an out-of-service USPS collection bin at Crabtree Valley Mall.

According to documents, authorities said Bullis did nothing to warn authorities about the second bomb even though it was in a public place where many people could be injured.

Bullis originally received a mandatory life sentence followed by back-to-back sentences adding up to almost 50 years in prison.

In September 2022, two charges were vacated, leaving only a 20-year sentence. Bullis was resentenced Friday to more than 37 years in prison, which increases his original sentence by 10 years.

“Stephan Bullis caused terror in the Raleigh community because the pipe bomb at BTI came only a few short months after the Oklahoma City bombing and at a time when the infamous ‘Unabomber’ was at large,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “The defendant knowingly risked harm to countless individuals and inflicted psychological trauma on numerous others. This new sentence holds Bullis accountable for his horrific actions and keeps him behind bars where he belongs.”