The Clinton body count originated with the 1987 Ives/Henry double homicide case and the subsequent violent deaths of seven witnesses or suspects in the investigation . Drug smuggling continued at the Mena Airport after the CIA terminated the Contra supply operation and left Arkansas. All nine of these murders in the vicinity of Mena remain unsolved, and three were originally ruled "suicides" by the state's chief medical examiner . Law enforcement and prosecutors also participated in the coverup, some receiving pay raises and promotions in the Clinton Arkansas political machine .



The BCCI, Inslaw, and a small Little Rock bank data processing company known as Systematics also figure prominently in a string of unusual deaths. Once in the White House, many premature deaths related to "accidents" (most likely the result of sabotage) and "suicides" (staged by hired thugs) coincide with investigations into illegal fundraising . Since leaving the White House, several witnesses in corruption probes have been "suicided" or met bizarre "accidents" only days before giving sworn testimony . Other mysterious deaths are related to the Clinton Foundation and fundraising.



Much of the early work on the subject was done by journalist Danny Casolaro writing The Octopus, and Victor Thorn author of The Clinton Murder Volume, both who met suspicious and untimely deaths. Future researchers will build upon their work, with the caveat of associated risks.



The Clinton body count spawned the neologism 'Arkancide', defined as neither traditional suicide nor homicide, but "suicide" by two bullets to the back of the head.