MD MD - Jonathan Luna, 38, Baltimore, 4 December 2003

[J. J. in Phila]

From what I read, no wallet was found....this is incorrect? Did LE find a bank card used at the ATM?
Also, if he went inside to purchase drinks, I find it hard to believe whoever was holding him captive would allow him to do so...or, why not ask the store clerk for help (?)
Happy Thanksgiving everyone..

Happy Thanksgiving.

No wallet was found on the body. That does not mean it was not in the car.

If I am taking my wallet out while driving, for example, to pay a toll, I may leave it on the seat. I'll pick it up when I get out.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

The only thing in the report that points away from self inflicted are the scuff marks on the tops of the shoes. That is it, and that could have happened as JPL lay dying in the ditch.

I a replying to myself to clarify something.

Scuff marks on the tops of shoes can result from someone being dragged. There are other ways that they can occur, but that is only thing I see that could point to someone else being involved.

 

[MyJoey]

What are we missing here? Was he picking up and giving someone a ride to Lancaster Co.? I think the damage to his private areas puzzles me the most. I don’t think he was seeking a woman.
Which tolls were paid VS picked up by Ez pass?
Seems there were a lot of shady people around him, FBI, a boss that didn’t like him. We have missing money, that either he took or was set up to look like it was him.
Shoe scuffs could have happened before this event, not sure how but. I would really like to know for sure if there was finger prints or someone else’s blood in the car. Way too many unknowns. FBI seems to want it written off. Lancaster Co., is sure it’s a homicide???? I think there were bigger things going on behind the scenes of his death. The fact that his family has been so quiet is also puzzling, are they being asked not to say anything. Scared, or sparing his reputation.

 

[MyJoey]

No way do I think he was on a dating or seeking woman web site. He was to smart for that, I totally think that was fake. That would have came back to bite him way before his death.

 

[Sweetluv]

So all of these odd sequence of events transpired for roughly 6 hours....that's a significant amount of time...driving from Maryland, to Delaware, and to Pennsylvania. Very erratic behavior to say the least...
Wish we knew how Jonathan was acting the week before his death..anything out of the norm?

 

[J. J. in Phila]

So all of these odd sequence of events transpired for roughly 6 hours....that's a significant amount of time...driving from Maryland, to Delaware, and to Pennsylvania. Very erratic behavior to say the least...
Wish we knew how Jonathan was acting the week before his death..anything out of the norm?

He was under a lot of stress, according to his colleagues and the defense attorney. The case was collapsing quickly.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

What are we missing here? Was he picking up and giving someone a ride to Lancaster Co.? I think the damage to his private areas puzzles me the most. I don’t think he was seeking a woman.
Which tolls were paid VS picked up by Ez pass?
Seems there were a lot of shady people around him, FBI, a boss that didn’t like him. We have missing money, that either he took or was set up to look like it was him.
Shoe scuffs could have happened before this event, not sure how but. I would really like to know for sure if there was finger prints or someone else’s blood in the car. Way too many unknowns. FBI seems to want it written off. Lancaster Co., is sure it’s a homicide???? I think there were bigger things going on behind the scenes of his death. The fact that his family has been so quiet is also puzzling, are they being asked not to say anything. Scared, or sparing his reputation.

If JPL were picking anyone up, he'd have to leave at 11:38 PM, drive across three states (MD, DE, NJ), pick the person up in NJ, then drive into a fourth state (PA). Once there, they go to Amish country, at 4:00 AM. Unless Luna had a relative or very close friend living in the Denver area, I do not find that plausible.

We do know that there were conflicts with the USA for the district, his ultimate supervisor.

There are other reports.

 

[MyJoey]

Reading this again, it seems there was a lot of bruising to his neck aside from the stab wounds. Also there were 2 knives found, a pocket knife and on 1/14/04 another knife was found. Also there were cuts in his shirt. What stands out the most to me is the rectum bruising and private area, no way he did that to himself.
The troubles he was having with his boss, seemed to be stressing him out but according to the papers he hired his own attorney and was thinking of going out on his own. He had moved his parents not far away from him, he had 2 children and his wife also had a great job. Being $25,000 in debt is nothing, they both had great jobs. This guy worked to hard to get where he was to steal $36,000 and risk everything he worked for, I don’t think it was him.
If he was trying to stage like he was abducted, I don’t buy it. He was much too smart to pull something that stupid.
I’m definitely not one for conspiracy stuff at all, but I feel the FBI knows more and for whatever reason this case will never be solved.
Many of the knife wounds to the neck could have been done by someone sitting behind him in the car. So much of it doesn’t make sense and there was a lot of shady business going on around him.
Think there is a book out about him, I’m going to have to check it out. Obviously it’s not going to tell who but could give more insight to how he was handling things in his last months.
If he would have had drugs and alcohol in his system, I would be more open to the suicidal thoughts only because they can impair thinking.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Reading this again, it seems there was a lot of bruising to his neck aside from the stab wounds. Also there were 2 knives found, a pocket knife and on 1/14/04 another knife was found. Also there were cuts in his shirt. What stands out the most to me is the rectum bruising and private area, no way he did that to himself.
The troubles he was having with his boss, seemed to be stressing him out but according to the papers he hired his own attorney and was thinking of going out on his own. He had moved his parents not far away from him, he had 2 children and his wife also had a great job. Being $25,000 in debt is nothing, they both had great jobs. This guy worked to hard to get where he was to steal $36,000 and risk everything he worked for, I don’t think it was him.
If he was trying to stage like he was abducted, I don’t buy it. He was much too smart to pull something that stupid.
I’m definitely not one for conspiracy stuff at all, but I feel the FBI knows more and for whatever reason this case will never be solved.
Many of the knife wounds to the neck could have been done by someone sitting behind him in the car. So much of it doesn’t make sense and there was a lot of shady business going on around him.
Think there is a book out about him, I’m going to have to check it out. Obviously it’s not going to tell who but could give more insight to how he was handling things in his last months.
If he would have had drugs and alcohol in his system, I would be more open to the suicidal thoughts only because they can impair thinking.

Two knives were found, not two separate sets of cuts.

There was no rectal bruising. Scrotum bruising can be self inflicted, simply by running into something.

Luna was keeping the debt secret from his wife. If fired, a lot of that income evaporates.

The problem is not if JPL stole the money. It is if any potential employer thinks he did. If he took the polygraph , passed with flying colors, and then got fired, any employer would think that he failed the test.

 

[Sweetluv]

With 2 knives found, I orig thought it was just a pocket knife, did BOTH knives cause the wounds?

Also, I have trouble thinking that you can drive a lengthy amount of time sticking yourself, let alone, someone else sticking you and be able to operate a vehicle. No accounts of dangerous driving reported, correct? I assume the trauma was done towards the end..so what was going on for those hours prior? Jonathan was a smart man i assume, since there is no signs of being bound, one would think he would have ran his car off the road or made some type of move to bring attention to the situation.
Would someone take the chance of having JL drive around in his OWN car for hours while they were up to no good..leaving him at the wheel ? Even if at knife point, after sev hours on the road, I would attempt a maneuver of some kind. Its traveled interstate with others drivers around...
Something is off...

 

[J. J. in Phila]

With 2 knives found, I orig thought it was just a pocket knife, did BOTH knives cause the wounds?

Also, I have trouble thinking that you can drive a lengthy amount of time sticking yourself, let alone, someone else sticking you and be able to operate a vehicle. No accounts of dangerous driving reported, correct? I assume the trauma was done towards the end..so what was going on for those hours prior? Jonathan was a smart man i assume, since there is no signs of being bound, one would think he would have ran his car off the road or made some type of move to bring attention to the situation.
Would someone take the chance of having JL drive around in his OWN car for hours while they were up to no good..leaving him at the wheel ? Even if at knife point, after sev hours on the road, I would attempt a maneuver of some kind. Its traveled interstate with others drivers around...
Something is off...

A "hunting knife" was found initially, but that not established to have been used. Hunting knives generally do not have the punch and can opener blades.

Luna would be bleeding out very quickly, no matter who inflicted the wounds, unless first aid would have been given; there was no evidence of that. At least the fatal would have happened within a few minutes of JPL going into the "stream."

 

[MyJoey]

Seems there was some damage to the rectum.
Really we don’t know for sure if his wife knew or not, only what the papers report. I imagine he had a credit card that was work related.
Luna could have quit and just went out on his own. His boss was fired a year later and that’s what he did.
Possibly the drive to the stream was his trying to get away. He was bleeding out at that point, no reason to leave the car. Head lights off as to not draw attention to the car. He may not have truly feared for his life until it was too late. If someone was in the back seat punching/ stabbing at his neck, he wouldn’t have many defensive wounds. Really without all the evidence it’s hard to say. From all accounts I’ve read he was a hard working, upbeat person with a super clean record, until things went south the last year or two of his life when his new boss shows up. Same boss that was fired a year later, I believe and wrote about the corruption in Baltimore.
The case Luna was working on is also interesting and there was a lot of shady stuff there with the FBI informant. Now the defendants were getting a sweet deal and if the papers are correct a murder charge was dropped against them. That would be upsetting to the family of the murdered person. Then again it was Luna that messed that case up by not telling the defense attorney about the informant. So many twists and turns.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Seems there was some damage to the rectum.
Really we don’t know for sure if his wife knew or not, only what the papers report. I imagine he had a credit card that was work related.
Luna could have quit and just went out on his own. His boss was fired a year later and that’s what he did.
Possibly the drive to the stream was his trying to get away. He was bleeding out at that point, no reason to leave the car. Head lights off as to not draw attention to the car. He may not have truly feared for his life until it was too late. If someone was in the back seat punching/ stabbing at his neck, he wouldn’t have many defensive wounds. Really without all the evidence it’s hard to say. From all accounts I’ve read he was a hard working, upbeat person with a super clean record, until things went south the last year or two of his life when his new boss shows up. Same boss that was fired a year later, I believe and wrote about the corruption in Baltimore.
The case Luna was working on is also interesting and there was a lot of shady stuff there with the FBI informant. Now the defendants were getting a sweet deal and if the papers are correct a murder charge was dropped against them. That would be upsetting to the family of the murdered person. Then again it was Luna that messed that case up by not telling the defense attorney about the informant. So many twists and turns.

Hemorrhaging can be due to hemorrhoids. There was no bruising.

I doubt that he would have had a work related credit card. He would probably file vouchers.

DiBiagio, the US Attorney, was not a good boss, IMO. He could still fire JPL, and that would cause hiring problems alone. Especially with the Stash House case, Luna could be facing ethics problems. If he took the polygraph test, passed it with no deception, and then was fired, a potential employer would assume he did not pass it. It was partly, the Stash House case part, JPL's fault that he was in this situation, but the rest of it wasn't.

It is very difficult for even an experienced lawyer to go out on his own; I have known of several ex-prosecutors that have tried. There is a lot of overhead, and Luna wouldn't have a client base. On top of that, some insurance companies that will pay for legal services will not deal with a single member firm; I have seen that first hand. Joining a firm is different, but he would have to be hired.

It is not correct that a murder charge was dropped or filed against either defendant. There was a allegation that could have been used in sentencing. There is a question if the victim's family even knew about that. The agreement was that it could not be used in sentencing. That was the kind of agreement DiBiagio did not like.

 

[MyJoey]

Hemorrhaging can be due to hemorrhoids. There was no bruising.

I doubt that he would have had a work related credit card. He would probably file vouchers.

DiBiagio, the US Attorney, was not a good boss, IMO. He could still fire JPL, and that would cause hiring problems alone. Especially with the Stash House case, Luna could be facing ethics problems. If he took the polygraph test, passed it with no deception, and then was fired, a potential employer would assume he did not pass it. It was partly, the Stash House case part, JPL's fault that he was in this situation, but the rest of it wasn't.

It is very difficult for even an experienced lawyer to go out on his own; I have known of several ex-prosecutors that have tried. There is a lot of overhead, and Luna wouldn't have a client base. On top of that, some insurance companies that will pay for legal services will not deal with a single member firm; I have seen that first hand. Joining a firm is different, but he would have to be hired.

It is not correct that a murder charge was dropped or filed against either defendant. There was an allegation that could have been used in sentencing. There is a question if the victim's family even knew about that. The agreement was that it could not be used in sentencing. That was the kind of agreement DiBiagio did not like.

Yeah I definitely see all your points. Still have a hard time believing he did this to himself but I can see the argument for it.
Seriously hard to believe they don’t know where the money went to! I mean if they can’t solve that case ! Then a polygraph that’s not even admissible in court.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Yeah I definitely see all your points. Still have a hard time believing he did this to himself but I can see the argument for it.
Seriously hard to believe they don’t know where the money went to! I mean if they can’t solve that case ! Then a polygraph that’s not even admissible in court.

I don't think JPL intended to injure himself as severely as he was injured.

I also do not believe he took the money, but there would have been this sequence of events.

1. The money was taken.

2. JPL had access to the money.

3. JPL was polygraphed (hypothetical).

4. JPL was fired (hypothetical).

There is a 3a, also hypothetical: The polygraph showed that JPL did not take the money. Would a potential employer believe that? The USA Office may not. That is a real problem for Luna, even if he did nothing wrong.

 

[GXP Sleuther]

nevermind.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Some things that I think we can rule out:

1. Rough sex: There are sexual practices involving knife-play, but JPL was fully clothed.

2. Restrained and tortured: No ligature marks or bruises on the body. No tears on the coat. No head wound that could have lead to him being knocked out and tortured while unconscious.

Some things not ruled out.

A. Possibility JPL was drugged. That would explain the lack of defensive wounds as well.

B. Self inflicted.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

There is supposedly a comment from PSP investigator that they think it was accidental suicide. The source is a comment from the guy who wrote The Midnight Ride of Jonathan Luna. He claims it was in the documentary. He also circulated the stories about JPL having his scrotum slashed and his hands shredded, so he is not a good source.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Here is a link to a site on bleeding out from a wound like JPL had: How Long Does It Take to Bleed Out From an Artery?

It says 2-5 minutes.

I will note several things:

1. Loss of consciousness may occur earlier, due to blood pressure drop.

2. Some of other sites say it could be as long as 10 minutes.

3. Cold (it was in the 20's in the area), could slow the process slightly, possibly towards the upper end (10 minutes).

While this would not apply to the other wounds, the fatal one would have had to been inflicted within about 10 minutes of JPL going into the water. It is highly likely that the fatal wound was inflicted in the parking lot of the drilling company.

 

[Sweetluv]

I hv always leaned towards staging a kidnapping and self inflicting wounds..but poking yourself 36 times and self injuring your genitals seems overboard, ..no (?)
Also, why stage for over 6 hours?
If he didnt hv his phone , what was his plan...to say he broke free from his attacker and go inside a 24 hour mini mart or wave down a car?
He left his glasses behind in his office, do we know if he needed them to drive in the dark?