Suicide or Foul Play?

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vega

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A judge who was in the limelight a few months back for putting behind bars sons of wealthy businessmen and politician was found dead on his hotel room. He got a bullet wound in his temple and his wrists and ankles were slashed. Police found a suicide note but no pen could be found in his room. He has a fresh wound in his forehead and his gun was on top of his table when found.

Hotel employees forced the door of his room because it was chain locked. Windows were also securely locked when they entered his room.

So you LEOs and enthusiasts out there care to give your analysis?

vega

[This message has been edited by vega (edited March 19, 2000).]
 
BTW in the initial finding of police, they ruled that he slashed his wrists and ankles first before he blows his temple..lol.

vega
 
Having personally spoken with ummm...four suicide losers who obviously did NOT succeed their wrist-slashings, I must say that you cannot on the information posted reject the suicide possiblity.

Gun on the table is quite fishy.

The other wound on the forehead is consistent with the emotional frenzy often displayed by folks whose faulty thinking makes them believe there is "no other way..." I personally saw some impressive self-inflicted head-bashing taking place at the PD station when reporting for the university newspaper.

However, that wound is also a red flag (no pun intended) that homicide is a distinct possiblity!

The gun on the table *could* be not a problem if the victim (self-inflicted) used a mousegun and bled out. I heard firsthand from one of the cops involved of a suicide who was too lazy to write a note and turned on a tape recorder instead. After the sad tale and justifications ended, the tape went:

BANG!

OW!

BANG!

Oh Gawd that HURTS!

BANG!

The cop didn't say how many shots it took, but it was a .25 auto the suicide "winner" used.

I know this story is secondhand hearsay to you guys, but I believe it. Certain scholarly writings have described suicide attempt head wounds that were not immediately fatal and sometimes even did not result in immediate unconscousness. Remember the Hawaii airliner that lost its roof just behind the cockpit? One passenger had a piece of aluminum through his skull and into the brain during the ordeal, and never lost consciousness until they got on the ground...

Do not discount homicide until the investigation results adequately address your questions. Though suicide is *possible* given the facts you posted, homicide crafted to appear as suicide seems more plausible. Heck, the killer(s) could have even placed the gun in the guy's hand and been long gone when the victim regained enough consciousness to put the gun on the table.

Investigators gotta ask the right questions. "Who put the gun on the table?" might not lead to the whole truth, you know.
 
Was the suicide note written on hotel stationery? If so the lack of a pen is germane. Otherwise assume he wrote it beforehand as part of his prior planning.
What did the note say? What was his reason?

------------------
Better days to be,

Ed
 
If he was sitting at the table when he did the deed, then it's quite logical for the gun to be on top of the table.

Does the forehead wound have any powder burns or stippling? Had it bled? Is it possible that he could have received the forehead wound post mortem, for example, striking his forehead on an object as he died?

The wounds on the wrists could be hesitation marks.

Blood alcohol level of the victim?

Suicide note typed or handwritten? Check his office(s) for matching pads, and then check the pads for imprints to see if he wrote the note there.

LawDog
 
I have a book here somewhere in which the authors claim that a man once killed himself by boring 8 holes in his own head with a power drill. (Felton and Fowler's Best, Worst, and Most Unusual)
 
1. He used a .25 cal

2. Hotel stationery was used. Suicide note was handwritten by the Judge.

3. Beside the note was a withdrawal slip for his burial and cremation.

4.He was sitting in front of the table and bumb his head on the foot of the night stand on his way down to meet the floor.

5. So what happened to the pen?
 
I had a suicide: 2 shots from a 12 gauge pump, one to the gut, next one to the head & the safety was ON. Suicide, all right. Looked wierd, but it was.
 
If EMS was called, that's probably what happened to the pen. One of them used it to write info and stuck it in his pocket by habit.

I love EMT's to death, but they can muck up a crime scene faster then a muddy beagle puppy.

In the past, I have had EMT's grab the suicide note and use it as scratch paper, toss the gun into a medical bag for safety, and other fun things.

LawDog
 
Vega, based on your additional information, I now leap to the not-all-the-facts-are-in conclusion that it was indeed a suicide.

I still want a firm conclusive finding of where the pen went. Sounds like many plausible possibilities...

How about fingerprints on the cartridges in the magazine? Not dispositive, but it helps.
 
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