Joybubbles [SEP] manner of death
Joybubbles
Joybubbles ( – ), born Josef Carl Engressia, Jr. in Richmond, Virginia, United States, was an early phone phreak. Born blind, he became interested in telephones at age four. He had absolute pitch, and was able to whistle 2600 hertz into a telephone, an operator tone also used by blue box phreaking devices. Joybubbles said that he had an IQ of “172 or something". Joybubbles died at his Minneapolis home on . According to his death certificate, he died of "natural causes
’s community around his home, giving readings at the local library and setting up phone calls to terminally ill children around the world. He often contributed to the Bulletin Board section of the "St. Paul Pioneer Press" newspaper.
Sexually abused as a child by one of his teachers, Joybubbles “reverted to his childhood” in May 1988 and remained there until his death, claiming that he was five years old. He legally changed his name to Joybubbles in 1991, stating that he wanted to put his past, specifically