The Russian government was involved.
Have you ever heard of this story?
Dispute Lingers in Hammer Death : Man Smashed 32 Times on Head; Police Insist It's Suicide
December 08, 1985|SHARON COHEN | Associated Press
http://articles.latimes.com/1986-04-03/news/mn-2660_1_hammer-blows
HOBART, Ind. — It has the makings of classic mystery: man found dead in basement, skull smashed and bloodied by 32 hammer blows. Police say it's suicide. Coroner insists it's murder.
<snip>
"It's probably the most bizarre case our department has investigated," said Police Chief Lawrence Juzwicki.
<snip>
Originally, police officers had thought that they were dealing with a homicide when, on April 6, Diane Cooley discovered her husband's body in a basement photo darkroom.
An autopsy showed that Cooley's skull had been fractured in two places. Ten of the 32 blows were severe enough to have knocked him senseless, Lake County Coroner Daniel Thomas concluded.
However, as police officers pursued their investigation, it did not square with murder, Juzwicki said. "The evidence we gathered supports the suicide finding."
What detectives found was a depressed man fighting cancer. What they did not find was a suspect or motive. No signs of struggle. No forced entry. Nothing missing. They consulted experts, who concluded Cooley probably killed himself.
Case closed. Suicide.
Thomas was outraged.
"It's a homicide, and we're not going to let it go by as a suicide," he declared. "This case is ludicrous. It's a laughing matter."
The wounds "were so massive there was no doubt," said Thomas, a surgeon for 21 years and coroner since 1983. His office investigated 110 killings last year. Three days after Cooley's death, Thomas ruled homicide. Cause: severe injuries to the brain.
<snip>
At the heart of the dispute is whether Cooley was inclined to kill himself and whether he could have hit himself 32 times with a claw hammer--hard enough to fracture his skull twice.
= new reply since forum marked as read
