Nexus - 0225 - New Times Magazine-pages

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“ah 5 & TUILICHT ZA Ne a. 7 *. atke © old couple's son loading the shotgun approximately six weeks prior to the fatal incident. 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.” 1994's MOST BIZARRE SUICIDE jad homicide on his hands. At the 1994 annual awards dinner given "The room on the ninth floor whence the by the American Association for Forensic shotgun blast emanated was occupied by an Science, AAFS President Don Harper Mills elderly man and his wife. They were argu- astounded his audience in San Diego with ing and he was threatening her with the the legal complications of a bizarre death. shotgun. He was so upset that, when he Here is the story: pulled the trigger, he completely missed his "On 23 March 1994, the medical exam- wife and the pellets went through the win- iner viewed the body of Ronald Opus and dow, striking Opus. concluded that he died from a shotgun “When one intends to kill subject A but wound of the head, The decedent had_ kills subject B in the jumped from the top of a ten-storey build- attempt, one is guilty of ing intending to commit suicide (he left a the murder of subject note indicating his despondency). As he B. When confronted fell past the ninth floor, his life was inter- with this chargeythe rupted by a shotgun blast through a win- old man and his wife dow, which killed him instantly. Neither were both adamant that the shooter nor the decedent was aware that neither knew that the a safety net had been erected at the eighth shotgun was loaded. floor level to protect some window-wash- The old man said it was ers and that Opus would not have been able his long-standing habit to complete his suicide anyway because of to threaten his wife this.” with the unloaded shot- "Ordinarily," Dr Mills continued, "a per- gun. He had no inten- son who sets out to commit suicide ulti- tion to murder her— mately succeeds, even though the mecha- therefore, the killing of nism might not be what he intended. That Opus appeared to be an 4 Opus was shot on the way to certain death accident. That is, the nine storeys below probably would not gun had been acciden- have changed his mode of death from sui- tally loaded. cide to homicide. But the fact that his sui- “The continuing cidal intent would not have been successful investigation turned up caused the medical examiner to feel that he a witness who saw the APRIL - MAY 1995 NEXUS ¢ 63 1994's MOST BIZARRE SUICIDE