Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
http://www.dailyworld.com/article/20090128/NEWS01/901280304/OPD-clears-case?nclick_check=1New technology, coupled with thousands of hours of traditional police work, has helped the Opelousas Police Department solve the 2005 rape and murder of Clemmie Meche Hutchins.
http://www.ksla.com/story/9745478/arrest-closes-2005-opelousas-cold-caseOn July 16, 2005, Hutchins was found dead in her home. The St. Landry Parish coroner's office originally ruled her death an accident but that was a ruling the family would not accept.
The family hired its own forensic expert, who ruled the death a homicide.
In February 2006, the state attorney general's office joined the probe at the request of St. Landry Parish authorities.
http://www.klfy.com/story/9744581/opelousas-cold-case-solvedMonday 43 year old Ricky Buxie was arrested after officials at the Acadiana Crime Lab say his DNA was a match for genetic material found inside the home of an Opelousas woman who was murdered.
It's been an uphill battle for threee years for a woman whose son died of a gunshot wound in a little town called Leonville in St. Landry Parish.
Marcus Merritt's death was ruled a suicide but his mother has never believed that. Now, his body has been exhumed for further investigation.
Welcome to Websleuths, Sabeteur1956! I am so sorry for your loss. I hope you find the answers you seek.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/
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.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.
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.This is Marc, my son
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.This is Marc, my son
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.
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.