--part1_62.1937055.25f90506_boundary
In a message dated 3/8/00 7:28:55 PM Eastern Standard Time,
mcgrice@eisa.net.au writes:
> Isn't this ironic!
>
> At the 1994 annual awards dinner given for Forensic Science. A past
> president, Dr. Don Harper Mills stounded 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
> as 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 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. Mr Opus was shot on the
> way to certain death nine stories below street level, but that his 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.
> An elderly man and his wife occupied the room on the ninth floor from
> whence
> the shotgun blast emanated. 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 23, 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.
>
--part1_62.1937055.25f90506_boundary
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From: "Ron McGrice" <mcgrice@eisa.net.au>
To: "Pub Digest" <pub@jag-lovers.org>
Subject: [pub] Fw: Irony
Date: Thu, 9 Mar 2000 10:17:56 +1000
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Subject: Fw: Irony
Isn't this ironic!
At the 1994 annual awards dinner given for Forensic Science. A past
president, Dr. Don Harper Mills stounded 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
as 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 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. Mr Opus was shot on the
way to certain death nine stories below street level, but that his 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.
An elderly man and his wife occupied the room on the ninth floor from
whence
the shotgun blast emanated. 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 23, 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.
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