One more time...Murder or Suicide, You Decide.

Okay today I won't bore you with the details of the death of a fish, instead I shall regale you with this little conundrum.

Imagine, it's around 10 pm on December 30th, and you are on your way home. You decide to cut through one of the local high school parking lots, and as you walk towards home, you realize there's a rather large mass lying on the ground up ahead. You move cautiously towards it and find that you've just stumbled across a dead body. You call for the police, and while you wait, you take some time to do some amateur sleuthing.

Your victim is a large man, who looks to be in his mid to late 50's. He's lying on his back dressed in a t-shirt and ball cap. He has a big gaping hole in his chest...so you are pretty sure he died from this chest wound. Nearby you see a pearl-handled revolver...obviously the weapon that caused that hole in his chest.

For some reason the person seems familiar to you, but you can't put your finger on. As the time slowly ticks by, you get antsy waiting for the police to arrive, so you decide to take your detective work a bit farther and you take the end of your pen and rifle through the victim's pants. His one pant pocket contains a 4 dollar betting slip, time stamped 4.44 pm for that day for the Delta Downs. You hear the police sirens coming closer, so you push the slip back in his pocket and settle back to wait.


The police take your contact information, but they don't seem too interested in your theories, so you head home hoping someone will be up to hear your extraordinary tale.

The next morning you get up early and rush outside to grab the paper, wondering if there's been any mention of you finding the body. Sure enough, the headlines are all about the body...but sadly no mention of you!

Anyway, you find out the reason the victim seemed familiar is because he just happens to be the newly elected mayor of your city. Thinking back you recall this jovial fellow tooling around on his Harley Davidson dressed in leather pants and chaps. He was always very popular, and you are kicking yourself for not recognizing him (A tip to the local paper would have been worth a C- note at the very least).

The paper notes that his last day was a rather sad one, as it coincided with being his first day on the job as Mayor of the city. Apparently he spent the morning with the outgoing mayor. First on the list was to learn how to arm and disarm the alarm system, then how to raise and lower the U.S. flag. After that he ordered a new mayoral letterhead and a button-down shirt embroidered with his name and "Mayor". Finally the two men ambled outside to lower the flag to half mast in honour of Gerald Ford.

Later that day he stopped by the Delta Downs for one of his favorite past times...a wee bit of gambling. After that, the next time anyone spotted him, it was you, seeing him dead in the parking lot of his old alma mater.

The coroner's report shows that the mayor was shot in the chest. There were deep soot impressions on the body, leading to a conclusion that the wound was self inflicted. Apparently, although it is more common for suicide victims to shoot themselves in the head, it is not uncommon for chest shots either.

Upon further investigation you find that the victim was to be sworn in as Mayor only a few days later, and had left no suicide notes, or telltale preparations to indicate he was going to do away with himself.

So now you, my little Sherlock Holmes, tell me, is this Murder or Suicide....


Need a hint?
Okay maybe it would be of interest to you that.....
1) The police found the body Saturday night around 10pm, and initially ruled it a homicide and was investigating.
2) By Tuesday afternoon the police officially ruled the death a suicide.
3) Family members objected to this quick conclusion and asked that State Police intervene and take the investigation over from the local Sheriff's department.
4) Initially the Sheriff's department said there was no need to involve the State Police but quickly offered to turn the body and investigation over to them.


So now do you know...or need some more hints?
Okay....
1) The town has a population of approximately 4500 people
2) There population is approximately 80% Caucasian
3) The new mayor was the first ever African American elected to the mayoral office
4) The new mayor was overwhelmingly elected by something like 69% of the total vote.


Now have you figured it out? If so, please immediately contact the Westlake Louisiana Sheriff's department to tell them you've deduced the real cause of death of Gerald Washington, age 57, the town's newest and most recently deceases mayor. Personally, I'm not willing to risk even a dollar saying this was suicide, although I'm not willing to risk a dollar saying it was racially motivated either.

What do you think?
-Swapna