FL FL - Patrick Mullins, 52, Manatee County, 27 Jan 2013

According to witnesses, Mullins left his dock about 3 p.m., alone in his 16-foot "Stumpknocker." The boat, with its narrow hull and shallow draft, was perfect for navigating the Braden, but Mullins rarely took it into the larger Manatee River or beyond...

Pat Mullins' boat was found Jan 29, two days after his disappearance, west of Egmont Key, unmanned and adrift.

Seven days later, a fisherman found Mullins' body floating near the county-owned Emerson Point park, strapped securely to a 25-pound anchor with thick rope...

The side of Mullins' skull showed several exit holes. Forensic anthropologists at the University of Florida who pieced together the framework of bone could not rule out that he might have been shot more than once...

Investigators found nothing in Mullins' boat - no blood or bits of skull - resulting from the shotgun blast, and they acknowledge they don't know where he was when he died. An alternative light source tool found no blood or bodily fluids anywhere within the Stumpknocker.

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Many boats were out on the Manatee River that day in 2013, Jill later learned, because the weather had been so nice. She also would learn that the Suncoast Gun Show in Palmetto was at the Bradenton Area Convention Center that same weekend, seven miles from where his body was found...

They found his boat, nine miles west of Egmont Key. The boat’s green Bimini top was down and the motor was still running...

The autopsy report also stated that Pat’s body was weighed down by a 25-pound anchor tied to a three-quarter-inch rope, which wrapped both horizontally and vertically around his body, according to Vega.

The medical examiner’s office couldn’t decisively conclude whether the gunshot wound was inflicted or self-inflicted, explaining why the case remains an open death investigation.

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PayrollNerd said:

MSN

The episode will air on Nov. 1 and will highlight the death of Patrick Lee Mullins, 52, who went missing on Jan. 27, 2013. Detectives with the Manatee County Sheriff's Office said he committed suicide, but his family has asked for the investigation to be reopened for years. They believe he was killed after encountering illegal activity on the river.

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docrocker said:

The Death of Patrick Mullins​

Hello, sleuths. It's been quite a while since I've been on here. It's great to know that you're all still posting to solve crimes that are still unsolved. I'm usually shy about posting, because I know how very good and thoughtful people are here. If there are typos in my text, I ask that you'll all please forgive me. My eyesight is growing dimmer.

I only recently watched the unsolved case of Patrick Mullins on Netflix. Something about this story hit a chord. At that time, there was still no closure for his wife and family. I didn't know any other way of contacting Mrs Mullins (remarried now), so I came here again to propose my theory on what transpired. Some of this will be difficult for his family to read, but they've continued to search for answers, and loved him very much.

I won't retell the entire story as seen on Netflix, because I'm certain that all of you have done an excellent job of that. Rather, I'll try to make this brief and to the point. I do hope this helps to bring the family some closure, at the least. I haven't read anyone else's posts on this sad case, because I want to write my comments down without any other influences. If my suppositions differ from others', I'm only offering my take and I respect each and every opinion on this case.

As everyone knows, there are a number of pieces of evidence that the Mullins family were told had no answers. Especially clear and difficult to understand was the police department's repeated attempts to make Mrs Mullins drop the case and accept their rationale, that he committed suicide. I hope to show that there is no way he committed suicide, and that there is only one scenario in which all of the puzzle pieces fit. I'm sure that others feel the same way. I'm going to lay down the events in a way that makes sense to me, based on the events, and I'll explain why as I write.

Mr. Mullins took his boat out to run fresh gas through the engine before putting it away for the winter season. He was out for a pleasant last ride for the year, and he was not robbed. He wasn't fishing. Patrick was not known for taking it out in the open water where it was found. Experts on currents gave an excellent summary of how his boat got where it was and where it came from. They pointed to an area the boat came from, which was ironically close to the chef friend's home, but that's not what transpired. The boat was taken out and the scene staged. Patrick could not have been stopped by drug dealers, he did not commit suicide, and he was killed with a shotgun (the forensic pathologist agreed). He could not have shot himself. He also could not have died right away, because salt water will not preserve a body for nine days, which was the time that passed until he was found. Patrick's body, however, was placed in the water as soon as he died. This is evidenced by the fact that there was NO evidence whatsoever of scavenger fish eating his flesh. He also wasn't likely held captive and then killed. There was no reason for it. If he'd been held by robbers, they would have likely asked for ransom money. They didn't do so, and drug dealers or robbers would never sit on someone for nine days before staging a terrible suicide scenario. The money in his wallet wasn't even taken. He could not have committed suicide for the reasons the forensic pathologist laid out. Most notably, there was no evidence of blood in the boat. It's almost impossible for that to have occurred in a suicide, and it would be near impossible to shoot himself with a shotgun he didn't own, and never purchased. The forensics expert the family hired did an excellent job of showing it was not suicide. However, I do believe that she (and others) could not bring themselves to believe what actually did transpire. The reason there was no blood in the boat was twofold. He wasn't killed in it, and the boat was set out right after Patrick was shot. His body was not dropped in the water until NINE days later...just after Patrick died.

This is what I believe occurred:
While Mr. Mullins drove his boat up the channel from his home, he came upon the chef friend's house. (I don't recall his name, but he is the one who was overly distraught, especially on anniversaries of Patrick's death). This chef friend had probably been drinking, and there might have been someone else there, but not necessarily. That friend who might have been there certainly came into play later, at least. The chef friend waved him over to have a drink, or to show him his shotgun. Patrick landed his boat and got out (he was NOT killed in the boat). Because of alcohol being involved, an accidental shot from the shotgun struck Mr. Mullins in the head. The chef (his brother's friend) did shoot him. This is evidenced by the chef's subsequent and significant drug use, as well as his hyper emotional responses to Patrick's death. The chef saw the horror of what had just happened, and he played it back, over and over in his head, until the day he died. We see this often when someone is faced with the horror of accidentally or purposefully killing another human. The psychiatrist agreed, and he's right.

The chef friend pulled Patrick's boat out in the channel with Patrick not in the boat. He was probably initially attempting to make it look as if Patrick fell from the boat. However, the chef expected Patrick to die soon, and he was frantic about what to do with his body. The most important bit of evidence here is that Mr. Mullins did not die immediately. In fact, he remained alive for some time. This will be difficult for the family, but Patrick's remaining alive is the reason Mr. Mullins' body showed no decomposition. The friend hid him, watched him die over days, and most importantly, he obtained HELP from someone he knew that he felt would know what should be done. He was hysterical because Patrick was STILL ALIVE. That's very important and I'll prove it. This fact also added to the horror of what the chef friend was required to do, waiting for Patrick to die. Once Mr. Mullins finally expired, the chef began tying him up with his known method and taking him out on the lake very early on the morning of the day Patrick's body was spotted by a fisherman. Furthermore, his body had been cleaned up either with water from a hose or in the water next to the house, in order to prevent blood being found anywhere. Mr. Mullins' body was almost pristine when found. That is impossible if he had died right away, due to decomposition that occurs within merely a few days. He wasn't found until day NINE. Again, this is why he wasn't killed by drug dealers, etc. They would have just killed him and dumped his body, rather than dealing with a body for nine days. Patrick's body MUST have remained alive after he was shot. I'll explain, shortly.

Once Mr. Mullins finally passed away, his body was tied up to make it look like suicide by anchor in 4-6 feet of water. He most definitely got help from a friend in order to put Patrick's body in his own boat. There are reasons why someone had to help the chef friend get rid of Patrick's body and staged the suicide. That will become apparent When the chef put Patrick's boat in the water, he tied it to his own boat and pulled it out. He wanted to get any bit of evidence of what happened away from his own home. During this boat trip to pull Patrick's boat out to open water, the RED PAINT found on Mullins' boat got there from pulling it alongside his own boat and was due to waves splashing the two boats against each other. Mr. Mullins' body was then left in the water, and the scene was staged. Patrick's body was a different matter. The ridiculous anchor story tied to a length of rope longer than the 4-6 feet of water he was dropped in, was merely an attempt from a distraught man, trying to perform the tasks he had taken days to come up with. He wanted to make it LOOK like a suicide, but it was clearly staged. The reason the boat and Patrick's body were not found together is because Patrick did not die right away. It's a gruesome fact, but it is fact.

Now, the reason it's highly probable that a local policeman (a friend, most likely) helped the friend stage the scene is because of a few disturbing events. First, law enforcement hounded Mrs. Mullins to stop looking for anything because they almost demanded she agree that it was a suicide. Sometimes, police are lazy, sometimes they make honest mistakes, but I've found police to be understanding and kind when a family member dies. However, there's usually a sinister reason when unnatural events transpire. To push the flimsy suicide story, the police used the excuse that they cared for Mrs. Mullins and family. They wanted them to go on with their lives and forget the pain. But, that decision is not theirs to make. Their job is to LOOK for the truth, not to force victims to be quiet. Law enforcement's actions in this case unfortunately smacks of covering for one of their own. People are not robots, and there are reasons why people do what they do...even police. Their actions made it clear that chef friend probably asked for help from a policeman friend (maybe, he met through his restaurant) who would KNOW what to do...maybe. Things just got out of hand, when Patrick did not die right away.

Secondly, police hampered efforts by family to get any investigation of evidence that didn't make sense. They downplayed everything. Each piece of Possible evidence looked at was downplayed, like the NEW red paint on Patrick's boat, the fact that he never owned a shotgun or a firearm of any kind, and the scene was staged. Also, Mr. Mullins' body was not decomposed...After NINE Days. Then, when police were pressured to get the security video tape on the bridge the boat would have had to pass by, and would show either Mr Mullins' boat passing by, or the killer, the video tape was suspiciously "Corrupted". Police said that the person who obtained the video footage downloaded "corrupted footage". However, in the case of a death or a murder, the video should have been obtained and downloaded by police, or more appropriately, a detective schooled and knowledgeable about video and security cameras. It's no wonder that the Mullins family was suspicious. When the episode showed the corrupted security tape issue, it was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back. The psychiatrist was suspicious of the chef also, but he didn't propose a theory. He's a good psychiatrist, not a detective or forensic pathologist.

Each piece of significant evidence was tainted in some way, argued, or denied. Police refused to answer questions when the episode was filmed. The security camera video from the bridge just happened to be footage that was turned out to be "corrupted". Coincidence? Bad luck? Maybe, but that wasn't the only event that smelled. If it had been, it could have been excused as bad luck or incompetence. Given all the other actions by police, the videotape being "corrupted" is key pointing to law enforcement covering for one of their own.

What probably occurred was that the officer-friend who helped the chef/killer, had to discuss what transpired with someone higher up. That policeman might have had to take too many days off, or was acting odd. Policemen are a suspicious lot. They invariably point the finger at people close to a victim, even if there's no evidence. The reason is that a policeman's life is filled with nothing but crooked people and criminals. So to them, everyone is a criminal. The only other possible scenario would be that the policeman the chef/killer knew was a top police official in the department. Maybe, the chef/killer met this officer through his popular restaurant. The chef probably offered free meals to law enforcement, knowing that it's good business and many people believe it's a good thing to do. This was not one of those times. When the chef/killer approached the policeman he knew, the chef/killer was hysterical, begged for help while telling the honest truth about what had transpired. It WAS an accident. The other possibility is that this police officer was actually there when the accidental shooting by his chef/friend occurred. However, the subsequent cover-up to protect their friend and their own is sinister. Despite my love for our police, the evidence in this case shouts that a coverup occurred.

There could be other scenarios. It''s even likely. But, one thing is definitely true and which opens up the case to sinister actions. The single most damning piece of evidence that predicates against suicide or drug dealers killing Patrick, and which tells the entire story of what the chef did with help, is how preserved Patrick's body and skin were, the preservation of Patrick's body. Patrick's body and skin were almost pristine, and it was found NINE DAYS after his disappearance. There were no scavenger bites from fish, no shark bites, no blood. Blood would have attracted sharks and other predators for miles around, and the fish living right there in the four to six feet of water his body was found in, would have never ignored him. Sure, there are certainly some methods for preserving a body from decomposition for nine days and longer. When considering those methods, they don't make sense in any way here. If Patrick had died immediately from the shotgun blast to his head, which was the manner of his death, his body would have immediately gone into decomposition. Furthermore, Patrick's body would have gone into the water right away, but it didn't. And, even if some method was used to prevent decomposition, no drug dealer would have gone to such trouble. Not only was there no discussion of any embalming of the body or use of any solution to prevent decomposition, preservation would not explain the lack of fish scavengers tearing at his skin. His skin was intact except for the wounds from the shotgun blast. Also, it's unlikely that ANY type of preservative was used. The chef, who was the accidental killer, would have gotten rid of his body as soon as possible. In fact, that's exactly what he did once Patrick finally died. While Patrick laid dying, the chef couldn't bring himself to shoot Patrick again to provide the killing blast, and he couldn't dream of staging that false suicide, dumping him in the water while he was still alive. Everything that occurred was due to the frantic pacing, hysterical crying, the begging God for help, and finally begging a friend who would more likely know what to do. The reason for the policeman being involved will become apparent shortly. As difficult as it is to imagine, and more so to print, Patrick laid dying for close to Nine Days before the staging of his suicide was performed in the darkness of the early morning on the day Patrick's body was found by a local fisherman and tour guide. A living person has the very best method of preserving a body from decomposition. It's better than embalming, and it's better than any of the preserving solutions some post online. As horrendous as this was, it did occur. Patrick laid dying for almost nine days.It's almost unimaginable, but evidence proves this. Every other piece of evidence merely describes small events and mistakes, as well as those things covered up.

As mentioned on the Netflix episode, in the subsequent few years after Mr. Mullins untimely death, the killer displayed the actions of someone who has done something horrendously bad, such as accidentally shooting a human being. For years, I've contended that one of the reasons first time killers will often turn the gun on themselves (especially, kids who realize that killing isn't what happens on TV, movies, or on video games). After years of observing patients and following crimes, I'm convinced that the most common reason they turn the gun on themselves is due to the horror of realizing what they did. The taking of a human life is the most horrific thing one person can do to another. When it occurs by accident to someone who is like and respected, that horror is every bit as intense, if not more so. In the case of Mr. Mullins' killer, he turned to drugs, including Meth. He was emotional to the point of being exaggerated (truly exaggerated) and out of the ordinary. He wasn't even Patrick's friend. He only knew Patrick Mullins because he was a friend of Patrick's brother. The chef was grieving about something far worse than just losing an acquaintance. The Mullins family stated that they didn't even grieve in that exaggerated way, despite Patrick being their own husband, father, and brother. Lastly, an Accident is the only scenario that fits the puzzle of who killed Patrick. If there had been a fight, a quarrel, if there had been money involved, or if there had been something between them concerning a past lover, the chef would have been overheard making derogatory comments, past comments, rationalizing (for himself) what he did and why it was justified. But, the converse was true. The chef was not angry or trying to convince himself that what he'd done was justified. He was openly distraught. The chef displayed the emotions of one who was horrified at something they'd done. He watched Patrick die over many days, had to clean him and the scene up, had to stage a fake suicide, had to beg someone for help due to the accident and the fact that Patrick was still alive. He despaired from not knowing what to do, and having to live with this for the rest of his life. One might say that he suffered terribly for what he did, but the coverup is the most obscene of all things that occurred in this case. And, this was most definitely a coverup.

It's taken quite a while for me to bring myself to post this scenario. I've wanted to do so for some time, but I wanted to take time to consider it, carefully. I wanted my comments to be honest, as truthful as I can see them, and to hopefully bring some resolution to them. I heard that Mrs Mullins has remarried. Good for her. I'm very pleased, but there is no way on earth that she doesn't still think about Patrick and the horror that befell that decent man. I realized that what I've written will not bring peace to any one of Patrick Mullins' family members or friends, or the multitude of young people he taught and helped. On the other hand, all his family has had to live with not knowing. That's what made me go forward with writing this very uncomfortable scenario.

I pray that Patrick Mullins' family finds the best possible peace for their lives, but those of us who've suffered the death of a loved one in such a violent manner know that total peace will never fully come. Even with the grace and help of a loving God, that pain never completely goes away. But, it does rear its head less often. May God bless Patrick Mullins' family.

Respectfully,

Charles Kay, MD

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