Actual Case Histories

At the 1994 annual awards dinner for forensic science, AAFS President Dr Don Harper Mills astounded his audience with the legal implications of a bizarre death. Here is the story:

On March 23rd 1994 a 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-storey 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 the 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 that he had planned. "Ordinarily", Dr Mills continued, "Someone 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, but 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, 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 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 that the shotgun was not loaded. The old man said that 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 couples 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 lead him to jump off the ten-storey building on March 23rd, only to be killed by a shotgun blast passing through the ninth storey window. The son had actually murdered himself so the medical examiner closed the case as suicide.

THE MORAL TO THE STORY:

With all investigations, the only thing you can depend upon is the unexpected.

Testimonials

Family Law

My husband continuously lied to me about where he was. I never knew where he was even when he was at work. It wasn't until I had Lyonswood Investigations and Forensic Group place him under surveillance that I found out about his other relationship, children and house. I was totally amazed when you provided evidence that even the furniture and the children's toys were the same. I now have a life and thanks to you, I can put this bizarre episode behind me.
(Female name withheld)


You were right about GUT FEELINGS. I remember you said that 98% of your clients were right about their suspicions. Unfortunately, I am not one of the 2%. I will just have to pick up the pieces and move on. I would like to thank you for your compassion and counselling. I was impressed by your professionalism and the quality of your evidence. The written agreement between us gave me assurance. I will most certainly recommend you if the situation arises.
(Male name withheld)


To think that I trusted him all these years. I feel like a fool. Anyway, the children are old enough to understand. I don't know that I could ever show them the video you obtained, perhaps in time. I feel vindicated now because he was always telling everyone that I was to blame. Although fault is not an issue in Family Law matters anymore, my integrity is intact. I never thought I would ever go to a private investigator, but I'm glad I did. Your investigators are very good at their job and they kept me up to date. Once again, thank you.
(Female name withheld)


Theft in the Work Place

Just a short note to thank you for your efforts and the final outcome. Without your input I would probably still be stuck with this thief. I have no idea just how much was stolen over the years. I still recall your advice that the most trusted have the most opportunity, however I never suspected my partner. The fact that you discovered he had set up an opposition company and was stealing our product and selling it through his business has provided me with a great deal of leverage. My legal representatives believe that I can remove him from his director/shareholder status with minimal costs. In the end you have provided evidence beyond refute of his criminal activities and turned a bad situation into a good one. The annoying thing is that I couldn't even get the police interested. I will most certainly recommend you to my colleagues.
(Company name withheld)


It most certainly pays to get a second opinion. I was constantly being told by everyone around me that to film someone in the workplace was illegal. It was fortunate that I found your company. The fact that you were able to apply for the authority to install the hidden cameras and take care of all the court documents enabled me to concentrate on matters where I wasn't lacking in expertise. I had no idea who it was that was stealing from me and the person I suspected turned out to be innocent. Had I had accused this person solely on the grounds of his past criminal conviction, I might have committed an offence instead of catching the real culprit. It is amazing to what lengths people will go to steal. The fact that he spent an hour dismantling the desk to gain access to the petty cash tin is quite extraordinary. Thank you for your guidance, excellent service, and expedience in resolving this matter for me. I hope you don't mind me forwarding on your details.
(Company Director name withheld)


Harassment Problems

Thank you for this terrific result. This bastard has been causing problems now for years. We were almost at the stage of moving out and finding a new home until we found Lyonswood. Unfortunately the trees he poisoned will not recover despite our costly attempts. We also have no doubt that our dog died as a result of his actions. At least now he will never know when he is being watched. We intend to take civil action against him for compensation to replace the trees and to recover our costs and ask that you attend court to give evidence if required. The video you obtained should leave no doubt in the mind of a Magistrate as to what he was doing on our property drilling holes into our trees.
(Male name withheld)


The constant phone calls in the middle of the night were driving us mad. It is obvious to us that it was our neighbour, however when we checked through the telephone company the calls were not made from that number. Your suggestion that you place the telephone booth at the local shopping centre under surveillance seemed like a long shot. The fact that you obtained film of our neighbour attending that phone at the same time of our calls, provided the evidence we needed. We are now in contact with the police and the telephone company who are working on this matter together. Some people become very vindictive when they don't get their own way. We can't understand why he objected to our building extensions in the first place. My wife also sends her regards.
(Male name withheld)


Location of Missing Persons

We just thought we would drop you a line and tell you how things turned out. We eventually arranged a meeting with our daughter and have persuaded her to come home. The way that you handled the situation when you found her in the city was certainly the turning point. We have never been able to reason with her in the past. Our daughter is now settled and giving every indication that she intends to stay. You have made us both very happy and reunited our family. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
(Names withheld)


Top marks for handling a very delicate situation professionally. When you approached me and told me that your client was a 32 year old female who alleged I was her father, my first response was to hang up. I'm now glad I didn't. After discussing things with my wife, we decided to meet Janet. I can't tell you how emotional it was. All those years wondering where she was, what she looked like and what she thought about me deserting her as I did. Lucky for me we now see one another on a regular basis and my wife and Janet are getting along great. I really appreciated the discretion you showed towards me and the fact that you didn't reveal my whereabouts to her until I gave you approval. It's unfortunate that so many people have an opinion of private investigators based upon what they see on television. Keep up the good work.
(Male name withheld)


Forensic Document Examination

Your forensic document examiner was brilliant. We can now obtain what is rightfully ours, our inheritance. People can be so devious when it comes to matters of money. All along we believed that Dad's signature was a forgery. The evidence that you were able to obtain with respect to Dad's state of mind around the time he allegedly signed the will was also vital.
(Names withheld)


The letters that this woman was sending almost destroyed our marriage. The efforts on the part of your investigators are to be commended. The matching up of documentation that you managed to obtain from her proved beyond doubt who it was. I know you won't tell me, but I still can't imagine how you obtained these records. I guess that's a trade secret. I can't thank you enough.
(Male name withheld)


Electronic Counter Surveillance (Debugging)

Your professionalism showed from day one. The fact that you advised me to check with the Department of Fair Trading before proceeding gave me reassurance in your company. In fact I was surprised that major advertisers from the investigation industry in the yellow pages phone book are repeat offenders against this department. Isn't there legislation to prevent this? Getting back to the purpose of my letter, I was most impressed with your technical expert who conducted the electronic sweep of my business and home premises. He has undertaken extensive research in respect of the manufacturer of the listening device he found and measured the life remaining in the battery powering it in an attempt to determine how long it had been transmitting.

I now ask that you contact me so that I can arrange for periodic searches of my offices, particularly the offices of myself and my manager as well as the boardroom where the device was found. Could you also provide a quotation for the supply of counter surveillance devices for telephones and the boardroom. I now realise that prevention is better than cure. I await the outcome of your technician's findings in respect of the device you detected and your quotation.
(Company Director name withheld)

For real and intriguing case histories go to past newsletters (link here)