GUILTY MI - Paul DeWolf, 25, fatally shot in Ann Arbor frat house, 23 July 2013

[bourne]

Well I for one don't like the "coincidence", that's for sure.

Paintball attracts some real freaks...guys who would rather be using real guns on real targets.

My opinion could change as more detail comes out, but I have the strong sense this was NOT a crime of passion - more like an execution.

I don't think he saw it coming, I think he was shot through the spine.

:twocents:

BBM A crime of passion does not exclude an execution. The crime can be both: born out of passion AND committed execution-style.

 

[bourne]

I wouldn't read too much into a U-M med student taking a shot from a BB gun in the leg in April (or any other month)...it happens all the time.

Snipped & BBM. I'm not familiar with Ann Arbor but if random BB-gun shootings are occurring all the time there, particularly targeting college students, darn the LE there should make sure such incidents are reduced/eliminated by setting up police stings or at least, surveillance cameras in such high BB-gun shooting areas to catch the perps. I'm not understanding the Michigan LE's laissez-faire attitude about such BB gun shootings then.

 

[bourne]

Ann Arbor's a ghost town in July. Until the Ann Arbor Art Fair and Michigan Football and the Fall semester all start in August.

It's my understanding that the frat house was already filled with med school residents at that point. Also, the building complex across from Paul's frat looks to be public housing which leads me to believe that there are tons of low-income residents living there. I find it implausible that the surveillance camera captured NOT ONE OTHER SINGLE SOUL except for the one guy on cellphone from Tues night to Wed afternoon when Paul's body was found. What I think is that the guy on a cellphone was likely captured on video around Paul's TOD so police zeroed in on him.

Given Paul's murder, one would hope that the entire campus and neighborhood have installed surveillance cameras on every block and at the front and back entrances of the frat house as well as the hallways (particularly of the basement where Paul's body was found). I also think the cameras should be set up on jogging trails as well given that Paul had been shot with a BB gun on his leg in the past.

 

[black_squirrel]

It's my understanding that the frat house was already filled with med school residents at that point. Also, the building complex across from Paul's frat looks to be public housing which leads me to believe that there are tons of low-income residents living there. I find it implausible that the surveillance camera captured NOT ONE OTHER SINGLE SOUL except for the one guy on cellphone from Tues night to Wed afternoon when Paul's body was found. What I think is that the guy on a cellphone was likely captured on video around Paul's TOD so police zeroed in on him.

Given Paul's murder, one would hope that the entire campus and neighborhood have installed surveillance cameras on every block and at the front and back entrances of the frat house as well as the hallways (particularly of the basement where Paul's body was found). I also think the cameras should be set up on jogging trails as well given that Paul had been shot with a BB gun on his leg in the past.

I do not think there is any low income housing in that area. The large building across the frat house is a university building, that houses among other things the Medical Examiner's office. The other buildings are just frat houses
and residential housing. I bet a lot of faculty lives there.

We don't know if that man in the video was the only person captured on video. Perhaps they identified all the other people, and already spoke to those. Since this was in the evening, the entrance to the building was probably restricted. The system probably logs all the people entering
the building. Since the entrance to the building is far away from the curbside, there will not be many hanging out in the portal, unless they are university employees accessing the building.

 

[bourne]

I do not think there is any low income housing in that area. The large building across the frat house is a university building, that houses among other things the Medical Examiner's office. The other buildings are just frat houses
and residential housing. I bet a lot of faculty lives there.

We don't know if that man in the video was the only person captured on video. Perhaps they identified all the other people, and already spoke to those. Since this was in the evening, the entrance to the building was probably restricted. The system probably logs all the people entering
the building. Since the entrance to the building is far away from the curbside, there will not be many hanging out in the portal, unless they are university employees accessing the building.

Thanks! LOL When I see generic, aesthetically bland, unattractive building complex, I tend to think low-income housing. Thanks for helping me see the light. Next time, I'll also think ME office amongst other colorless environments.

I don't even know where the young man with cellphone was located. It's hard to tell whether or not he was at that complex across from frat house or somewhere entirely different. Anyhow, you may be right. Perhaps LE already identified others from the video and interviewed and cleared them and he was the only unidentifiable one they couldn't locate. *shrugs*

 

[missgulfsouth]

I think there is a good possibility that Paul's killer was already in the house, so no entrance/exit points, no camera footage. MOO

 

[Woe.be.gone]

Here's a poster who says he's an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon, a medical professional in the Navy, and that he "addicted" to paintball. He talks about injuries of paintball to the neck region.

"Getting hit in the Thyroid Cartilage aka the Adam's Apple:

From a distance this will just make you not feel too good for a few min, welp, bruise, made fun of. If you were to get hit there from a less then 15 - 20ft away, it could possible casue enough damage to collapse your trachea (windpipe) or actually cause enough swelling to make you start choking. Both of these are not really that likely but could possibly happen

Getting hit in the Carotid Sheath (Carotid Artery, Jugular Vein, and Vegus Nerve) aka the side of the neck:

From a distant see above. If you were to get hit from close, you could disturb the Carotid Basal Bodies, which are partially responsible for regulating blood pressure. Depending on the damage, your BP could go up (massive headache) or go down (really dizzy, possible faint). If the Carotid Artery was to become damaged, you wouldn't immediatley know it becasue the opposite side would provide enough blood to supply the brain. Within about 5-10 min, you would have a hematoma (massive swelling of blood) in you neck which would probably begin drainging into you chest cavity causing difficulty breathing a decreased heart function. If your Jugular Vein, you would instantly know it becasue your Blood pressure would begin rising and the same Hematoma formation would begin. If the impact were to casue any type of Nerve damamge, you could possible get heart palpitaitons, or difficulty breathing

Either injury could possibly cause death if the impact is placed in the right location, from the right distance, at the right FPS. History shows us that no one has died from these types of injuries but the question was asked and I thought I would give a fair assesment"

http://www.pbnation.com/showthread.php?t=2561719&page=3

NOTE: I have no idea if this poster is telling the truth or not and IDK if we can take his words at face value.

This sounds bad. Hard to believe they wouldn't wear some kind of protective gear around their necks when playing paintball.
Yet, it doesn't sound as if hits to the neck are common. Years ago I took my son to a paintball birthday party - what was I thinking?
In other words, there are ten year olds running around shooting each other with these things. :scared:

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I think given the inability of the ME and investigators to determine COD right off, the gun was nowhere near Paul's neck or likely even in the room when it was fired....

After reading about the BB gun incident (which was news to me) and the paintball hobby, is it possible Paul was hit by one of 'hobby guns' versus a conventional gun?

If this was an accident from outside his room, there would have to be evidence of the projectile entering his room. If he was hit outside, he should have had time to alert someone or call 911 for his own sake. Or, he would have fallen down outside.

The little gun I shot once a long time ago had a pearl handle and was no longer than five or six inches. The sound it made wasn't exactly dull but I doubt it could be heard outside of four enclosed walls. Are you saying if someone is shot at close range (within a smallish room) by a small caliber weapon (BB gun or the smallest of bullets) the entry wound would be large? Maybe the hematoma the shot caused made it difficult to determine the type/cause of injury upon first glance?

Oh, look what I found ~ every bullet known to man!
https://www.google.com/search?q=wea...QGYm4CIAQ&ved=0CCkQsAQ&biw=1024&bih=452&dpr=1

Some bullets have a sharp point and some appear to be rounded.

Look how ominous BB guns look these days. Holy carp!
http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=4414558

This gun business is definitely a whole area of expertise. Look at all the bullets, types, calibers and purposes guns have.

 

[Woe.be.gone]

Ann Arbor's a ghost town in July. Until the Ann Arbor Art Fair and Michigan Football and the Fall semester all start in August.

The building Paul lived in wasn't vacant though. People would still have to go in and out and LE would be able to figure out who did that normally everyday. But I don't think there are cameras at the Frat house, correct? Cameras would have to be located in the front and back to tell a complete story anyway.

If an accident, how do you envision it playing out? There would have to be some evidence.

 

[Woe.be.gone]

Wow, $10K....if I'm ever murdered, I'd hope my family would have enough respect for me not to offer any reward at all if they were just going to low-ball it. IMO/YMMV/YADDA.

If the family is rich though, Paul probably wouldn't have gone the Air Force route. Rich kids seldom do that, ya know? Medium income to poor kids end up defending our country which is why the system fits in with capitalism imo. Now I've crossed over to a tangent that is capable of producing landmines!

 

[SapphireSteel]

If it is an execution style hit, the perp could well have had a silencer.

I just want to make this clear -

Crime of Passion - a woman, a woman's jealous lover, impulsive, disorganised.

Execution style - someone who thinks they're a ninja and wanted P dead, planned and executed a way of doing it without being seen or heard.

I do not mean P was victim of a "hitman" arranged by someone else. Execution style in this instance means a silent, wordless and intentional murder, well planned, one bullet, very successful. Goal achieved, goal being to kill PW. No passion.

Paintball nutters fit with the Execution style :cow:

 

[Katana]

I agree that one shot to the neck does not seem impulsive or a crime of passion. It seems either planned by a skilled and knowledgeable shooter or accidental. If it was an accident then where did the gun come from? It's possible someone reacted in anger, then freaked out and ran. I still wonder where did the gun come from in that moment?

 

[MIMOMMY]

The article you are talking of is jarring.

I think the reporter is wondering "serial" too. I believe he's implying it, merely by publishing that article with those pictures.

Yes I agree, they both look like exactly what they were - successful, wealthy, white, gifted, every parent's dream child and yes, they could have been brother and sister.

This is what I don't like - the similarities. They both had extremely low risk lifestyles, both straight arrows so to speak. Their profiles match, essentially.

Easy to look at both of them and feel resentful at all the apparent success, I would imagine - if you were that sort of person.

:cow:

They are in fact NOT related. Although they are in both students - Julia was not nor is her family wealthy in any sense of the term - they are what you would consider working class. I can not speak on behalf of Paul or his family.

 

[bourne]

If it is an execution style hit, the perp could well have had a silencer.

I just want to make this clear -

Crime of Passion - a woman, a woman's jealous lover, impulsive, disorganised.

Execution style - someone who thinks they're a ninja and wanted P dead, planned and executed a way of doing it without being seen or heard.

I do not mean P was victim of a "hitman" arranged by someone else. Execution style in this instance means a silent, wordless and intentional murder, well planned, one bullet, very successful. Goal achieved, goal being to kill PW. No passion.

Paintball nutters fit with the Execution style :cow:

Good to know your personal definitions. That helps us understand your personal distinctions and what exactly you're describing.

I agree that *if* it were a paintball shooter who targeted and shot Paul at close range in order to kill him, then that could be considered "execution-style" murder.

Anyhow, just for everyone's future reference, the commonly accepted definition of "Crime of Passion" from Crime of passion - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia is:

A crime of passion, or crime passionnel, in popular usage, refers to a violent crime, especially murder, in which the perpetrator commits the act against someone because of sudden strong impulse such as sudden rage rather than as a premeditated crime.

According to the common usage, crime of passion is not gender-based nor does it imply any sort of "love" between murderer and victim. To me, a "crime of passion" simply means an unpremeditated, abrupt act of violence brought on by intense emotions, rather than reason. Intense emotions do not necessarily have to spring out of love; could be out of pure hate, rage, etc.).

No, I did not think you meant there was a "hired professional hitman" who shot Paul. I thought you were talking about an execution-styled gunshot, meaning shooting the victim with malicious, purposeful, premeditated, singular murderous intent at close range. But here's the definition given by wiki at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Execution-style_murder:

An execution-style murder, also known as Chicago-style murder, and execution-style killing is an act of criminal murder where the perpetrator kills at close range a conscious victim who is under the complete physical control of the assailant and who has been left with no course of resistance or escape.

 

[bourne]

I agree that one shot to the neck does not seem impulsive or a crime of passion. It seems either planned by a skilled and knowledgeable shooter or accidental. If it was an accident then where did the gun come from? It's possible someone reacted in anger, then freaked out and ran. I still wonder where did the gun come from in that moment?

On the other hand, you say it could be an accident, which implies that the shot might have been an impulsive one. That the perp did not intend to kill Paul, but that he nonethless aimed his gun at Paul for some reason. So shooting Paul and murdering Paul could have been unpremeditated and unplanned, which suggests impulsivity.

I personally believe that the perp intentionally targeted Paul in order to injure him. I believe the perp knows Paul on a personal level (not necessarily sexual). I'm not sure about the perp wanting to kill him though, although I think that when the perp saw what he did to Paul, he realized the severity of the situation and bolted out of the frat house.

I think it's highly likely that the perp suffered some sort of emotional stressor right before he went to shoot Paul. I also still believe the perp suffers from mental illness, likely some type of mood disorder with aggressive tendencies and impulsivity issues such as bipolar disorder. All JMHonestO

 

[thesaint]

Paul's shooting death is the top front page story in tomorrow's Detroit Free Press:

https://vine.co/v/hg61WEQrMhD

 

[southernnana]

:justice: for Paul

I think it's highly likely that the perp suffered some sort of emotional stressor right before he went to shoot Paul. I also still believe the perp suffers from mental illness, likely some type of mood disorder with aggressive tendencies and impulsivity issues such as bipolar disorder. All JMHonestO

This is what I also believe about the perp. I have considered this same person as the perp since early on in the thread. Sorry, cannot say any more.
JMO

 

[bourne]

Bolds by me to note interesting details.

"His small room was in the basement of the Phi Rho Sigma co-ed medical society house in Ann Arbor, near the workout room in a quieter and less trafficked part of the house.

"Police say they've executed numerous search warrants, conducted extensive interviews and administered polygraphs, but so far — despite a $10,000 reward being offered in the case — no one has been arrested for DeWolf's death."

"A day before DeWolf was discovered dead, a burglary was reported next door around 8:30 p.m., according to an online crime report and police. Police believe DeWolf was killed the night of July 23 or early on July 24."

"DeWolf's career goals were paved when he was just a kid. He'd play doctor, using a stethoscope to check on his older brother, Joshua DeWolf, when he was sick. Joshua DeWolf spent time in the hospital, paralyzed from a disorder that affects the nervous system, and Paul, then 11, got an up-close look as doctors treated him. It was a turning point in Paul DeWolf's life, prompting him to pursue a career in the medical field.

"Friends and family describe DeWolf — the middle of three children — as smart, driven, competitive, loving, athletic and musical. Joining the Air Force allowed him to pay for medical school and focus on his studies, they said"

"Paul DeWolf shared that passion for the piano with Lindsey Gaston, a second-year medical student he once dated."

"We're all shattered over here," said Joe Duratinsky, one of DeWolf's closest friends and a fourth-year medical student. "It seems like everyone has been affected — people that knew him really well, people that he only saw in passing in the hallways — everyone is devastated about it." Duratinsky said it doesn't make sense. "I honestly do not have a good explanation, and that's one of the things that makes this so frustrating," he said.

Gatson said she knows nothing will bring DeWolf back, but if someone comes forward, it will help his friends and family gain closure. "Ann Arbor is a pretty safe college town, and you just don't think that would happen to somebody, especially somebody you care about so much," Gatson said.


DeWolf's parents, who repeatedly praised the Ann Arbor Police Department, hope the case goes to trial so they can get resolution and start the healing process.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...seek-answers-in-med-students-slaying/2912905/

 

[jjenny]

Burglary next door about the exact same time Paul was killed. I hope police are seriously looking for that burglar.
Somebody could have been trying to burglarize the place, but before they could, they saw Paul. Shot him and run away.

 

[OldSteve]

Thanks Bourne for the news update! I wish LE would say what type of weapon was used. Could be an air pistol and not a true gun..
Also, wonder on what grounds they were able to get the "numerous search warrants"? Also interesting the polygraphs is plural...

Wonder if they have one or more POI's, but just are not saying.

 

[colette]

I think LE is grasping at straws because they have nothing. No one that knew Paul wanted him dead. It was a random crime, the burglar next door that did it. Too much of a coincidence in my opinion.