This is bizarre!
For those who have served on jury...this one is something to think
About..Just when you think you have heard everything!! Do you like
To read a good murder mystery? Not even Law and Order would attempt to
Capture this mess. This is an unbelievable twist of fate!!!
At the 1994 annual awards dinner given for Forensic Science,
(AAFS)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. Mr.
Opus had jumped from the top of a ten-story building intending to commit
Suicide. He left a note to the 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 deceased was aware that a safety net had been
Installed just below 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.
The room on the ninth floor, where 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, and both said that they thought the shotgun was not
Loaded. The old man said it was a 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, assuming
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.
Since the loader of the gun was aware of this, he was guilty of the
Murder even though he didn't actually pull the trigger. The case
Now becomes one of murder on the part of the son for the death of Ronald
Opus.
Now for 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,
Ronald Opus, had actually murdered himself. So the medical examiner closed
The case as a suicide.
A true story from Associated Press.
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