U.S. diplomat dies in Pakistan; suicide suspected

[seemslikeadream]

SHOT HIMSELF IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD!!
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view.bg?articleid=1069899&srvc=home&position=recent

But medical sources in Islamabad dismissed the suicide theory, telling Pakistani news agencies the bullet hit the back of Ryan’s head and was fired from several feet away.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080128/pl_nm/pakistan_usa_diplomat_dc

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani authorities found the body of a U.S. diplomat with a bullet wound in his head at his home in Islamabad on Monday and were investigating a suspected case of suicide, police and the Interior Minister said.


The U.S. embassy named the dead man as 37-year-old Keith Ryan, an immigration and customs enforcement attache from the Department of Homeland Security.

"There will be a full investigation; however, there does not appear to have been any foul play," the embassy said in a brief statement.

The embassy said Ryan had "passed away" on Monday morning, and his family had been informed.

Kaleem Imam, a Senior Superintendent of police in Islamabad, said the diplomat had been in Pakistan for a year and had been due to return to the United States on Monday, having finished his assignment.

"But, he did not come out of the home and was found dead in the bathroom. There is a bullet wound in his head," Imam said.

Ryan's body was found in his residence on a leafy avenue close to the diplomatic enclave in the Pakistani capital.

"We expect it is suicide, but we are investigating," Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz told Reuters.

The United States does not let diplomats posted to Pakistan take their families, because of the security threat posed by Islamist militants.

[newmajority]

1. Yeah, sure it was a suicide

And Benazir Bhutto hit her head on the sunroof :eyes:

[KansDem]

5. And ex-Enron vice-chairman Cliff Baxter...ratshot to the head

Cliff Baxter

Cliff Baxter was a former Vice Chairman of Enron, and one of the few high level Enron executives who had tried to prevent Enron’s illegal activities, which resulted in the fall of the company and the disappearance of the life savings of many of its employees, in one of the largest corporate fraud cases in U.S. history. At the time of his death he was about to testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee about the scandal at Enron. It was felt by many that his testimony could be devastating to top Enron officials and might even provide a vital link between Enron and the Bush Administration.

Baxter, 43, was found shot to death in his car on the morning of January 25, 2002, near his home in Sugar Land, Texas. As this article explains, local authorities quickly called his death a suicide, without a serious investigation or even an autopsy. But hours later, the local Justice of the Peace, Jim Richard, reversed his decision not to order an autopsy, citing intense public interest.

Baxter was not known to have depression or any other mental problem at the time. He was a multi-millionaire, with an apparently happy family life. Furthermore, he had spoken with a friend recently about the fact that he felt he needed a body guard.

This article discusses the autopsy findings and provides a copy of them. It notes that although the autopsy states “suicide” as the cause of death, no evidence is given to support that conclusion. It also goes into detail about how the physical findings are much more suggestive of murder than of suicide. And finally, it notes that Baxter would have had no need for ratshot, the ammunition used to kill him, and that ratshot is the perfect murder ammunition, since it leaves no evidence capable of matching the gun to the ammunition.

DU thread

[liberalnurse]

2. Doesn't every gun suicide victim

end up shooting themselves in the BACK OF THE HEAD??????????????


NOT! Execution style is how I see it.

[tekisui]

3. Very bizarre.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2787354

There are a couple of updates down thread on that post, too.

[seemslikeadream]

6. Thanks tekisui

I hadn't seen your thread :hi:

[tekisui]

7. .

:thumbsup:

It's a strange story.

[tekisui]

4. The State Dept. Wouldn't allow an postmortem autopsy in Pakistan

And he died the day before his yearlong tour was over. He was coming back to the US the next day!

[Richard Steele]

8. What could I even say about this? recommended without comment. nm

[no_hypocrisy]

9. Like a J.H. Hatfield suicide?

http://archive.salon.com/politics/red/2001/07/20/blue/

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. Hmmm... how do you manage to shoot yourself in the back

from several feet distance no less?

[KatyaR]

11. Reeeeeally long arms?

:shrug:

Sounds fishy to me.

[eridani]

12. Right. And I'm Marie of Roumania n/t

[DLnyc]

13. Perhaps got himself killed by stumbling across high-level heroin trade.

So, in a very loose sense, I guess that would be a 'suicide'.

Sorry, I don't know how to do the sarcasm icon thingy.