# Even if this isn't true it ought to be.



## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

*Supposedly a true story from Associated Press.*

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.


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## badger750 (Nov 1, 2009)

thats different didn't see the end comming though


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

Incredible if it's true, bizarre to say the least - the chances of that must be so small as to be impossible to calculate! (I tried to put in a word relating to infinity but this PC can't spell so I gave up! :lol: )

Dave


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

I don't care about Ron, he bullied my sister at school. She pushed him, Alan.


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

Hercule would have sorted that in one episode!


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

Penguin Dave - is this what you were looking for?

∞

the mathematical sign for infinity


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## GEMMY (Jun 19, 2006)

Unfortunately,

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/opus.asp

tony


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## Glandwr (Jun 12, 2006)

Reminds me of the professor who in the times of aircraft hijackings always used to carry a bomb when he had to fly across the pond. 

He had calculated the odds of him flying on a plane that was carrying a bomb as 10,000 to one, the odds of travelling on a plane carrying TWO bombs where billions to one.

Well what would you do?

Dick


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## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

GEMMY said:


> Unfortunately,
> 
> http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/opus.asp
> 
> tony


I'd already found that, but took the advice of the tabloid press and didn't let the truth get in the way of a good story.


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