LA LA - Marcus Merritt, 37, Leonville, 4 Jan 2013
- Thread starter Voorhees
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bessie
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Welcome, Voorhees. I read the story, and I'm so sorry about Marcus. Something about this rang a bell, and I was able to find the articles I came across some time back. It won't be much help, but you'll find it of interest.
January 2009
Opelousas, St. Landry Parish, LA
Note, the poor woman was raped and strangled.
January 2009
Opelousas, St. Landry Parish, LA
http://www.dailyworld.com/article/20090128/NEWS01/901280304/OPD-clears-case?nclick_check=1
http://www.ksla.com/story/9745478/arrest-closes-2005-opelousas-cold-case
http://www.klfy.com/story/9744581/opelousas-cold-case-solved
Note, the poor woman was raped and strangled.
Bluecat
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It's worth noting that the coroner for this parish is Russell Pavich, MD. It looks like he's not trained for it - he's a general practitioner (not even a member of the AMA, which is concerning to me but not required), and when you search his name you find him listed also as an orthopedic surgeon and a bariatric surgeon (which has been a trend among some doctors as it's highly profitable, but again - he doesn't have the specialty).
Pavich has been coroner since 1996, when he was appointed upon the resignation of the elected coroner due to funding issues - and has been elected and re-elected ever since. See Supreme Court of Louisiana case nos. 97-C-1914 and 97-C-1937. They ruled that the police had to fund the coroner for certain things, but ancillary staff (i.e. anyone other than Pavich himself) was not one of them, and it's unlikely that he's been given that much more in the way of more funding since 1996. So I suspect that the lack of investigation is due to there not being enough of Pavich to go around, which is an insane reason to decide not to do an autopsy (perhaps he thought that because your son was not local, that it wouldn't be questioned?). Just my opinion, but I hope that it strengthens your resolve and gives you more ammunition to get people to help you.
Pavich has been coroner since 1996, when he was appointed upon the resignation of the elected coroner due to funding issues - and has been elected and re-elected ever since. See Supreme Court of Louisiana case nos. 97-C-1914 and 97-C-1937. They ruled that the police had to fund the coroner for certain things, but ancillary staff (i.e. anyone other than Pavich himself) was not one of them, and it's unlikely that he's been given that much more in the way of more funding since 1996. So I suspect that the lack of investigation is due to there not being enough of Pavich to go around, which is an insane reason to decide not to do an autopsy (perhaps he thought that because your son was not local, that it wouldn't be questioned?). Just my opinion, but I hope that it strengthens your resolve and gives you more ammunition to get people to help you.
Bluecat
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The budget angle might be wrong - I found that they increased the budget in 2010 to $160k for the Coroner's office operating expense from $111k in 2009. It looks like they've had issues passing a budget since then, though, so who knows how funding is working in the last couple of years.
Thank you for that information. It boggles my mind but, whatever the lack of them doing a thorough investigation into Marcs' death, is totally unacceptable to me. The fact that he wasn't from there is exactly what helped this situation work against them because, I know this isn't correct protocol. I'm pretty sure these types of situations occur there but, not with my child & this Mother plans to do all I can to find out the truth!! Again, thank you for this information.
OkieGranny
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Sabeteur1956
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My son was murdered in Leonville, Louisiana and it's being covered up as a suicide. This is a report done by an expert who also survived 911.
I was asked by Mark Harper of MJA Investigations to review the crime scene photos of
Marcus Merritt Sr. because of my scientific background. Below is a summary of my educational
background along with my findings.
Background
I received a BS in electrical/mechanical engineering from Boston University. Upon
graduation, I furthered my education and received a JD from New England School of Law. I am
not a practicing attorney nor did I take any state bar exam, but I did take and pass the patent bar
exam. I currently hold the position of a patent agent at an intellectual property law firm in the
state in which I reside.
Summary
My first thoughts when I examined the picture of Mr. Merritt sitting on the floor
alongside his bed was that the scene seemed staged, and I also question if there was some type of
struggle before his death. This is definitely not a scene one would see if a person committed
suicide. The lamp on the night table is turned over and the amount of blood on the bed makes
me think that he bled out on the bed and was placed on floor. The only thing that was forgotten
was that if Mr. Merritt did in fact commit suicide, why is the gun laying on the bed. With all the
blood that he lost, he would not have had the ability to move from the bed and sit in an upright
position on the floor. I would also like to add that his body would be in the same location where
the suicide occurred with the gun more than likely in his hand or alongside the body.
In viewing the other crime scene photos, I noted the lack of brain matter and pieces of
skull which would have clearly been shown if this was a gunshot wound to the head. I notice no
exit wound in the photo of the head and the blackness in the mouth would in my opinion be
blood clotting from the blood from the mouth/nose, something which occurs during any
traumatic injury in which an artery is ruptured.
In my professional career I tend to rely on physics - a subject most tend to avoid though
we use it daily. In this case and I will rely on Newton's third law - motion in connection with the
blood spray or lack thereof. One must remember that motion in physics works in the opposite
direction. I refer back to the photo of the bed and the amount of blood on the bed to determine
whether there was an exit wound and the direction in which the gun was fired. Two terms often
used by forensics experts are “back spatter” and “forward spatter. (See picture below) Back
spatter occurs when the blood flows out the opposite direction the impact occurred. Forward
spatter occurs when the blood travels in the same direction as the source of energy or force
which caused the spatter. Forward spatter occurs when there is an exit wound as opposed to
backspatter which occurs when there is no exit wound. Since there appears to be no exit wound in the pictures I reviewed, one would say the blood on the bed is back spatter. Unfortunately, this is not the case here as evidenced from the picture above. As such, I do not believe Mr. Merritt’s death was caused by a gunshot wound. The images in the pictures bring me back to the death scene photos of Nicole Brown Simpson. Though there was much more blood in her case, the pattern of the blood is similar to Mr. Merrit’s pictures.
Conclusion
It is my opinion that the Mr. Merritt’s death was not self-inflicted but caused by blunt force trauma and the object used was more along the lines of a knife. I also feel that Mr. Merritt knew his assailant as the crime scene photos lean towards a crime of passion murder.
Dated: March 30, 2019 /s/
I was asked by Mark Harper of MJA Investigations to review the crime scene photos of
Marcus Merritt Sr. because of my scientific background. Below is a summary of my educational
background along with my findings.
Background
I received a BS in electrical/mechanical engineering from Boston University. Upon
graduation, I furthered my education and received a JD from New England School of Law. I am
not a practicing attorney nor did I take any state bar exam, but I did take and pass the patent bar
exam. I currently hold the position of a patent agent at an intellectual property law firm in the
state in which I reside.
Summary
My first thoughts when I examined the picture of Mr. Merritt sitting on the floor
alongside his bed was that the scene seemed staged, and I also question if there was some type of
struggle before his death. This is definitely not a scene one would see if a person committed
suicide. The lamp on the night table is turned over and the amount of blood on the bed makes
me think that he bled out on the bed and was placed on floor. The only thing that was forgotten
was that if Mr. Merritt did in fact commit suicide, why is the gun laying on the bed. With all the
blood that he lost, he would not have had the ability to move from the bed and sit in an upright
position on the floor. I would also like to add that his body would be in the same location where
the suicide occurred with the gun more than likely in his hand or alongside the body.
In viewing the other crime scene photos, I noted the lack of brain matter and pieces of
skull which would have clearly been shown if this was a gunshot wound to the head. I notice no
exit wound in the photo of the head and the blackness in the mouth would in my opinion be
blood clotting from the blood from the mouth/nose, something which occurs during any
traumatic injury in which an artery is ruptured.
In my professional career I tend to rely on physics - a subject most tend to avoid though
we use it daily. In this case and I will rely on Newton's third law - motion in connection with the
blood spray or lack thereof. One must remember that motion in physics works in the opposite
direction. I refer back to the photo of the bed and the amount of blood on the bed to determine
whether there was an exit wound and the direction in which the gun was fired. Two terms often
used by forensics experts are “back spatter” and “forward spatter. (See picture below) Back
spatter occurs when the blood flows out the opposite direction the impact occurred. Forward
spatter occurs when the blood travels in the same direction as the source of energy or force
which caused the spatter. Forward spatter occurs when there is an exit wound as opposed to
backspatter which occurs when there is no exit wound. Since there appears to be no exit wound in the pictures I reviewed, one would say the blood on the bed is back spatter. Unfortunately, this is not the case here as evidenced from the picture above. As such, I do not believe Mr. Merritt’s death was caused by a gunshot wound. The images in the pictures bring me back to the death scene photos of Nicole Brown Simpson. Though there was much more blood in her case, the pattern of the blood is similar to Mr. Merrit’s pictures.
Conclusion
It is my opinion that the Mr. Merritt’s death was not self-inflicted but caused by blunt force trauma and the object used was more along the lines of a knife. I also feel that Mr. Merritt knew his assailant as the crime scene photos lean towards a crime of passion murder.
Dated: March 30, 2019 /s/
coastal
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Welcome to Websleuths, Sabeteur1956! I am so sorry for your loss. I hope you find the answers you seek.
Please tell us more about your son.
Sabeteur1956
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Thank u for your kind words. I've battled with that state for 6 years now. Marc was exhumed 3 years after he passed away and a myriad of drugs were found in his system, including Fentanyl. He wouldn't even take Ibuprofen for a headache. Nobody in that state will do anything about his life being taken.
Sabeteur1956
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LilacRocket
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I'm so sorry for your loss. Can you tell us more about your son's life during this time? When did your son pass and how old was he at the time? Did he have a significant other? Was he struggling financially? Did he have any altercations or disputes with anyone? Any known enemies? Did he seem at all depressed or struggling emotionally? Along with fentanyl, can you tell us what other drugs were found in your son's system? Also, can you provide any links to news coverage or LE press releases relating to your son's passing? Thank you and I hope we can help.
So very sorry for the loss of your son. It's so hard when young people are taken so brutally. Can not imagine your heartache. Will follow along here, do what I can to contribute to this case and keep Marc and your family. I lost a nephew with the same name a couple of years ago. His case in not resolved. Just a shame
coastal
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He was a handsome young man! Six years is a long time to be fighting for something. I admire your tenacity and your courage in the face of the unthinkable.
I lost this thread last night; is it possible two threads were started with the same info? If so, I'll ask a mod to merge them. If not, never mind me!
BayouBelle_LA
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I wanna know: What happened to my son?
"I want to know what happened to my son," says Royce Eckley, who's struggled for more than a year trying to find answers in connection with the death of her son.
January 4 2013 Eckley's son, Marcus Merritt, was found dead in his home in Leonville, Louisiana in St. Landry Parish. His death was ruled a suicide from a self inflicted gunshot wound. But Eckley does not believe it. For one, she says no autopsy was done.
"The coroner himself told me he never saw him. He went straight from the house to the funeral home," said Eckley.
"I want to know what happened to my son," says Royce Eckley, who's struggled for more than a year trying to find answers in connection with the death of her son.
January 4 2013 Eckley's son, Marcus Merritt, was found dead in his home in Leonville, Louisiana in St. Landry Parish. His death was ruled a suicide from a self inflicted gunshot wound. But Eckley does not believe it. For one, she says no autopsy was done.
"The coroner himself told me he never saw him. He went straight from the house to the funeral home," said Eckley.
BayouBelle_LA
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Sabeteur1956
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Thank u all very much for your kind words. To those who've also lost someone they love, please accept my condolences. It's been very hard not only dealing with the loss of my child but, to have to battle for every report, information, etc. has truly been a nightmare I had no idea officials could be so unfeeling and corrupt to hide the truth. Louisiana is known for this however, it isn't something I thought I'd ever deal with.
Sabeteur1956
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Sabeteur1956
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