'I'm a psychopath': Details of Austin bomber's chilling confession tape revealed

The 23-year-old man behind the deadly Austin bombing spree described himself as a “psychopath” in a confession tape he made before killing himself.

Mark Conditt, who was unemployed and lived in the suburb of Pflugerville, Texas, showed no remorse for his actions in the video, US congressman Michael McCaul told a news conference.

The 25-minute clip was recovered from a mobile phone after Conditt blew himself up as police officers closed in to arrest him.

Police had not previously revealed details of the confession, in which Conditt admitted being responsible for the bombings that began on 2 March, other than describing him as a “very challenged young man”.

Two people were killed and five others wounded in a series of parcel bombings in the Texan city of Austin.

“I think the best evidence we have at this point in time is the confession itself ... He did refer to himself as a psychopath,” Mr McCaul said.

“It's hard to imagine someone whose mind is so sick that they could commit bombings like this and feel absolutely no remorse.”

He added there did not appear to be anything in Conditt’s confession “that was sort of racially motivated” but said it was “still part of the ongoing investigation”.

Several bombing victims, including the two who died, were either African-American or Hispanic.

Three of the devices were left as parcels outside victims’ homes, two were shipped as FedEx parcels and another was placed on a pavement and attached to a tripwire mechanism.

Police traced the devices back to Conditt via several pieces of evidence, including unusual screws and batteries.

An investigation is underway to find out whether anyone helped him build or plant the devices and to uncover his motives.