off topic, but, what a twisted tale...
cindy
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> Seen this before but it is still entertaining.
>
> >----------
> >
> >>> >> > At the 1994 annual awards dinner given for Forensic Science, the
> >>> >> > president, Dr. Don Harper Mills astounded his audience with the
> >>> >> > legal complications of a bizarre death. Here is the story:
> >>> >> >
> >>> >> > On March 23, 1994 the medical examiner viewed the body of Ronald
> >>> >> > Opus and concluded that he died from a shotgun wound to the head.
> >>> >> > The decedent had jumped from the top of a ten story building
> >>> >> > intending to commit suicide.
> >>> >> >
> >>> >> > He left a note to that effect indicating his despondency. As he
> >>> >> > fell past the ninth floor, his life was interrupted by a shotgun
> >>> >> > blast passing through a window, which killed him instantly.
> >>> >> > Neither the shooter nor the decedent was aware that a safety net
> >>> >> > had been installed just below at the eighth floor level to
> >>> >> > protect some building workers and that Ronald Opus would not have
> >>> >> > been able to complete his suicide the way he had planned.
> >>> >> >
> >>> >> > Ordinarily, Dr. Mills continued, "a person who sets out to commit
> >>> >> > suicide and ultimately succeeds, even though the mechanism might
> >>> >> > not be what he intended" is still defined as committing suicide.
> >>> >> > That Mr. Opus was shot on the way to certain death nine stories
> >>> >> > below at street level, but the suicide attempt probably would not
> >>> >> > have been successful because of the safety net, caused the
> >>> >> > medical examiner to feel that he had a homicide on his hands.
> >>> >> >
> >>> >> > The room on the ninth floor from whence the shotgun blast
> >>> >> > emanated was occupied by an elderly man and his wife. They were
> >>> >> > arguing vigorously, and he was threatening her with a shotgun.
> >>> >> > The man was so upset that when he pulled the trigger he
> >>> >> > completely missed his wife and the pellets went through the
> >>> >> > window striking Mr. Opus. When one intends to kill subject A, but
> >>> >> > kills subject B in the attempt, one is guilty of the murder of
> >>> >> > subject B. When confronted with the murder charge, the old man
> >>> >> > and his wife were both adamant. They both said they thought the
> >>> >> > shotgun was unloaded. The old man said it was his long standing
> >>> >> > habit to threaten his wife with the unloaded shotgun. He had no
> >>> >> > intention to murder her. Therefore, the killing of Mr. Opus
> >>> >> > appeared to be an accident, that is, the gun had been
> >>> >> > accidentally loaded.
> >>> >> >
> >>> >> > The continuing investigation turned up a witness who saw the old
> >>> >> > couple's son loading the shotgun about six weeks prior to the
> >>> >> > fatal accident. It transpired that the old lady had cut off her
> >>> >> > son's financial support and the son, knowing the propensity of
> >>> >> > his father to use the shotgun threateningly, loaded the gun with
> >>> >> > the expectation that his father would shoot his mother.
> >>> >> >
> >>> >> > The case now becomes one of murder on the part of the son for the
> >>> >> > death of Ronald Opus.
> >>> >> >
> >>> >> > Now comes the exquisite twist. Further investigation revealed
> >>> >> > that the son was in fact Ronald Opus. He had become
> >>> >> > increasingly despondent over the failure of his attempt to
> >>> >> > engineer his mother's murder. This led him to jump off the
> >>> >> > ten story building on March 23rd, only to be killed by a
> >>> >> > shotgun blast passing through the ninth story window.
> >>> >> >
> >>> >> > The son had actually murdered himself so the medical examiner
> >>> >> > closed the case as a suicide. Very tidy of him.
> >>> >> >
> >>> >> > A true story from Associated Press, by Kurt Westervelt.
> >>
> >>
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