Beranton J. Whisenant death declared a suicide even if no gun was found anywhere near his body.

originally posted by: annoyedpharmacist
Also, to pick up a gun from a scene where a dude is laying dead from a gun shot wound and steal said gun, when it may be possible to be charged with freaking murder is highly unlikely, even for morons of the highest order.

You've led a sheltered life, haven't you? People steal from dead bodies all the time. This is nowhere near new.

I don't think that is even remotely what occurred here, but it definitely happens a lot. Especially if the body is not lying in plain view of passersby. If someone is stealing a weapon, they're not planning to get caught in possession of it. They're going to get rid of it as quickly as possible, usually for cash or street drugs. Very, very common practice.

Not this time, though. I don't think this was a suicide.

originally posted by: PhyllidaDavenport
a reply to: Perfectenemy

It is said in the Miami Herald that "his body washed ashore" therefore it seems likely that he was killed either at sea or elsewhere and dumped. If he did commit suicide it would be within the realms of possibility that the gun is lost in the sea somewhere.

No clue how it could be determined to be a suicide and not murder though with no gun, no mention of residue and no note etc but I dont' have all the facts

I hate to say it but this is at least a plausible explanation. Say he shot himself at the edge of a pier, or he took a small boat out and stood on the edge, and he and the gun both fell into the water, the gun is going to sink to the bottom and he is going to get moved around by the currents. When he washes ashore, which is what the article said happened, of course the gun isn't going to be near him. Not saying that's what happened, I'm just saying it's not a slam-dunk murder either, there are other explanations.

As far as how they determine it's a suicide from the wound, one of the things they look at is the entry angle. Obviously if it's at an angle that would be impossible for someone to shoot themselves at, it looks suspicious. If it's at an angle common to people committing suicide, like the side of the head or through the top of the mouth, and without any other evidence pointing to murder, they probably lean toward ruling it a suicide. But obviously any pro hitman would try to shoot you at such an angle then, so that's far from conclusive.

a reply to: Perfectenemy

One simply does not hide the weapon after killing themselves. No way this is suicide. No way.

Wonder what he knew and if his case files are still intact.

Back in the day we could have put the FBI or had investigative journalists try to get the truth on this kind of story. I know, stop living in the past. Still have the internet( for a little while at least) and real news sites and citizens can do some snooping and maybe get some facts uncovered.

I agree it's provocing. Makes you wonder who they had in mind when making those law books. a reply to: Perfectenemy