Mental Gymnastics #3

P

pluspinc

Moderator
Cops are called to a car with a "smell" coming from it. In the trunk is the owner of the car. A .22 pistol is in his hand and a .22 bullet in his head showing a contact wound.
The deceased is in his 40's with no history of mental problems nor enemies.
In the trunk they found the normal things we all have in our trunk right down to coat hangers.
Problem is the car. It has one of those "continental kits" on it. It is in the locked and closed position. That means the person got in the trunk, THEN the continental kit would have to be pushed into place, impossible from inside the trunk.
Listed as a murder the wife would collect $500,000. If it was a suicide she'd collect nothing. Maybe he had help and someone shut the trunk and closed the continental kit. But why? Murder? Suicide? Maybe the deceased did it all. Which was it?
1960 Minneapolis case.
 
Well, for starters, anything that can be pushed down can be pulled down. Only difference is the availablility of contact points (whatever) to push (pull) - to employ mechanical advantage. "Impossible" flatly isn't. Discard that statement.

This is another "guy with unopened parachute found on his back" scenarios. The pertinent information, available to any who can think & see, is lacking. Sadly, the relevant info will be disclosed at a later date.

Likely Gorthar is correct as in entering through the back seat. I'm not familiar with modern cars (drive a pick 'um up) so who knows. Nonetheless, my experience with a modern auto is irrelevant - but, when I looked at it, I could tell. (duh)

Also quite as likely is that the "everything in trunk - including coathangers" points to the coat hanger that was wrapped around the outmost section of the inside trunk (where fingers couldn't reach & furthest from hinge) but coathanger could be wrapped, for mechanical leverage. Loop tied & trunk pulled closed. And, you can lock most any car trunk from the inside by flipping the lever while inside the trunk. Again, no info as to make, year model, etc. Any clothing piled on back seat in such a particular manner to expose movement would preclude entrance through back seat.

An apparent suicide could be faked by wrapping such a coat hanger loop to the inside of the trunk & pushing it closed.

The "no enemies" bit quite likely could apply to what the investigation revealed - but, only to date. That his wife was having an affair & wanted the deceased dead hasn't yet been revealed, etc. ad nauseum.

Really, +P. As interesting as these could be (& I could really get into it), they ain't.

You're throwing out 1/2 facts (so far) which most anyone on-scene could look at and say Duh! as in "there weren't any pellets in the body," etc. - ref braintwister #1

Not a flame - really, but ... what's the point?

You looking for hires-on for forensic-types or PI brainies? I'm game. What's it pay? ;)

Or maybe just to tweak TFL to see who's game to play? or ... ? I don't get it.
 
OK, by "Continental Kit", I assume its that ugly spare tire holder that hangs off the back of a trunk, right? And the thing can hinge out of the way to load stuff into the trunk, right? From the wording, it sounds like the trunk needs to be closed before the Continental kit can be swung and latched into it's stowed position. (Am I right on this? I'm just guessing here.)

OK, that assumption out of the way and using the above description of the Continental kit:
<OL TYPE=1>
<LI>DG swings Continental out of way and opens trunk.
<LI>He then hooks a coathanger (or similar) to the Continental kit.
<LI>Guy then climbs in trunk and shuts the trunk lid shut, keeping a firm grasp on the other end of the coat hanger.
<LI>He then pulls on coat hanger (which slides easily through the weatherstripping) which closes the Continental over the trunk. He tugs on the hanger until it bends and slips off the Continental. Hanger is not completly inside trunk.
<LI>BANG!
</OL>

Reason he killed himself? He had an ugly Continental kit on his car and he couldn't stand the humiliation.

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"Ray guns don't vaporize Zorbonians, Zorbonians vaporize Zorbonians" The Far Side

[This message has been edited by jcoyoung (edited February 19, 2000).]
 
Okay, with the info given this could be one of many scenarios. D/G don't like his wife much, freaks out one day because he doesn't know what a continental kit is either and he's got one on his car. Or his dog just got run over or who knows what. He crawls into the trunk, closes it, and munches a slug. He's hoping it'll take a long time for someone to find him so the stench will ruin the car. The disliked wife does find him, prestench or poststench it doesn't matter. She knows suicide doesn't pay very well, so she just closes and locks the continental kit(whatever the heck that is), cause she wants it to look like murder. She does know what a continental kit is, and knows that her husband couldn't have locked it from inside the trunk. Before she locks it up she throws standard issue coathangers in the trunk just to confuse us 30 some years later.

Does anyone carry coathangers in their trunk?

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bullet placement is gun control

[This message has been edited by muleshoe (edited February 19, 2000).]
 
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