I've always felt it highly unlikely that AC was murdered. First, because I think the two most obvious suspects were in HI at the time. Second, because of the circumstances of AC's death. He appeared to have died from natural causes (heart attack, stroke, PE, etc.) versus say, getting shot several times with a .45 acp...
Not saying it's impossible to poison somebody these days, just that it's hard to do so without it being discovered later in an autopsy. Sixty years ago, maybe - but these days you can't just run down to the drug store and grab some potassium cyanide or arsenic or polonium or ricin or hemlock or belladonna, etc. And I've read that antifreeze takes several days (any faster and the victim is sure to notice that he/she is ingesting more than iced tea). No, if poisoning could be done easily w/o being discovered, we would probably never have heard the names Markov, Litvinenko, Kim Jong-nam, and Skirpal.
Just for the record, there were three other suspects I had considered: MP, ZP, and special-ops-dude, but none of them seemed very plausible, then or now. MB might've had motive (to perhaps eliminate someone who could possibly tie her to the attempt on BB). LV and/or CD and/or MB could've
commissioned someone like special-ops-dude (who at one time I considered as possibly good for the BB attempt) to eliminate AC (who definitely knew a lot about a lot), but the gang would still be leaving a loose end..
But my sense that MB had nothing to do with AC's death has been further reinforced by the recent TV interviews: I just don't think she has the smarts, savvy, or skill (marksmanship class or not) to have done something like that. And definitely not on her own. And although I suppose ZP must be considered too (especially if there was an insurance policy in play on AC), I just don't see it, and for basically the same reasons I (perhaps wrongly) discounted MB's involvement (for similar reasons, I have never thought MB was in Tylee's Jeep in Oct in Gilbert - that was a one man show IMO)
I did however (and maybe still do) think there was a chance that AC took his own life. First because he was carrying around a lot of guilt (tho he also could have been a sociopath). Second, he had to be stressed to the max (think about what had transpired since July.. talk about high blood pressure!). Third, if there WAS insurance money at play, he might have been trying to get it to either LV or ZP or both as expeditiously as possible (assuming he was in the cult - also, this may explain his relatively short engagement with ZP). Fourth, AC may have pulled the plug just to help his sister (they obviously had a strange relationship; it appears he literally lived for her) removing himself as a witness to numerous crimes LV may have been involved in. He may have even known that his own health clock was running out (and maybe thought he could advance up CD's ladder one level). But, if AC planned to take his own life, he would still need to do so in a way that would not be discovered in a subsequent autopsy, or else no insurance payout (I think).
So, here I respectfully request the help of the medical experts on our forum who have been so gracious in providing their medical expertise: thank you Riverdoc, Gardenkeep, Nurse Gen and others.
Is there any way AC could've committed suucide without leaving evidence that would later be discovered in an autopsy? Are all autopsies equally thorough? Are most autopsies thorough enough to detect more than just the most common suicide methods like OD, hanging, gunshot, self poisoning, CO2, asphixiation., etc.? Would they have even looked for things like ethylene glycol, or, air embolism?
Could Alex have induced a PE by injecting air - and would evidence of doing so show up in a typical autopsy? In this autopsy? Would evidence of air embolism dissipate prior to (or during) an autopsy? Would you see the same damage/evidence in the lungs as a result of an air-induced PE as you might with a more typical PE from DVT?
And lastly, do you think TD's autopsy will be done to a similar standard as AC's (would you expect it to show any evidence of a possible air-embolism-induced-PE if there had been just such an injection of air before death?
Would love to hear your opinions. Thanks
Jmo/questions[/QUOTE
JMO, but my suspicion is that breadth and depth of autopsy studies likely vary widely.
I am just beginning to explore what autopsy findings are for organophosphate poisoning, found a couple decent articles that are available to read for Free
https://juniperpublishers.com/jfsci/pdf/JFSCI.MS.ID.555796.pdf
And
Respiratory Complications of Organophosphorus Nerve Agent and Insecticide Poisoning. Implications for Respiratory and Critical Care
Still reading, but these organophosphate/insecticide poisons are very readily available. Whether AC self administered at Lori’s direction or ZP did at Lori’s direction is anyone’s guess. MOO is that their marriage was at ‘the gatherers’ direction also. Oh, and if you do wade through those articles, “fibrin” = clot/scab protein....
