Post: #1

this guy took poison when his verdict came down. right in court.

he was found guilty of arson and was looking at a long sentence. went from rich to poor.
i guess he couldn't face the prospect of years in prison.
a friend mentioned case to me and all i said was "beats prison". he laughed and said that about sums it up.

could you? would you off yourself?

they often do, but not right in the courtroom.

he escaped the blaze wearing quite convenient SCUBA gear. here's the story:
----------------------------
AP & other sources
PHOENIX AZ. As the word "guilty" filled the silence of a Phoenix courtroom, defendant Michael Marin closed his eyes, put his head in his hands and appeared to put something in his mouth. He then took a swig from a sports bottle.

Minutes later, the 53-year-old Marin was dead.

Now investigators are trying to confirm their suspicion that Marin popped a poison pill after the jury found him guilty of arson, a bizarre ending to a case that began in 2009 when he emerged from his burning mansion in scuba gear.

Prosecutors said he torched his home when he couldn't keep up with the payments. Marin, an attorney and father of four, faced seven to 21 years in prison.

"This is one of the strangest cases I've seen in a long time," said Jeff Sprong, a spokesman with the Maricopa County sheriff's office. "We're hoping to find out exactly what he was thinking and exactly what he took."

Detectives will get the liquid from the sports drink tested for poisons. An autopsy was being conducted Friday to determine if any poison was in Marin's system, but results weren't expected to be released for months.

Marin's four grown children, who live in Arizona, did not return requests for comment, nor did his attorney, Andrew Clemency, or prosecutor Chris Rapp.

Marin, a former Wall Street trader, had summited Everest and wrote on his Facebook page that he had scaled six of the world's seven tallest mountains. He also was an art collector who had original Picassos.

Prosecutors painted him as a desperate man who had $50 in his bank account in July 2009, down from $900,000 a year earlier. He also had a monthly mortgage payment on the mansion of $17,250 and an upcoming balloon payment of $2.3 million.

Marin also owed $2,500 a month on a different home and owed $34,000 in taxes, prosecutors said.

On July 5, 2009, Marin told investigators that he escaped a blaze in his 10,000-sqaure-foot mansion in a posh part of Phoenix using a rope ladder and wearing scuba gear to avoid inhaling smoke.

Fire investigators later determined that the blaze was intentionally set. As Marin was led off to jail, he told reporters that he was innocent and "utterly shocked" that he was being arrested.

On Thursday, a jury found Marin guilty of a felony count of arson of an occupied structure.

After the verdict, he appeared to put something in his mouth, according to video footage. Soon after, a bright-red Marin coughed, reached for a tissue, buried his face in his hands and appeared to sob, The Arizona Republic reported.

Marin then began making noises that sounded like snores and whoops as he began convulsing and fell on the floor face-first, according to the newspaper.

Sprong, the sheriff's spokesman, said an investigator in the courtroom tried to resuscitate Marin. He was pronounced dead soon after at a hospital. Sprong said the department planned to interview his family and search his home.



video in court:

http://landing.newsinc.com/shared/video....D=23650891












escaped fire with SCUBA gear

Post: #2

Crazy fucking bastard.

Post: #3

(06-30-2012 06:53 PM)Ma Huang Sor Wrote:  Crazy fucking bastard.

crappy thing to do to his 4 kids. i don't know their ages. have to look it up.

2 grandkids also.

Yale Law school. wow. what a waste.

Marin's four grown children, who live in Arizona, did not return requests for comment

Among Marin's last posts on Facebook, in November 2009, was a photo of his four children that said there was something more important to him than his Everest conquest.

"More than anything else I may have accomplished in this life, this is what really matters to me: the blessing of knowing the amazing individuals I am privileged to call my children," he wrote.

Post: #4

Yes, and no.
Like pulling a bandaid off quickly or slowly.
He chose the quick method.

Kids will cry for awhile and then move on with their lives.
His spending 16 years in prison is both an embarrassment and anxiety producing for the children.

Plus we as tax payers now save 80K a year not having to support his ArsonAss.

Post: #5

I think poison pills ought to be offered as an option when guilty verdicts are handed down. Lots of other cultures in history had such a system, from the Greeks to the Japanese. It's a little like telling someone, "You fucked up, now do the right thing. Kill yourself."

Post: #6

he had quite a life. scaled Everest, traveled.

tox will take 2 weeks.

Post: #7

(06-30-2012 07:20 PM)Donovan Wrote:  I think poison pills ought to be offered as an option when guilty verdicts are handed down. Lots of other cultures in history had such a system, from the Greeks to the Japanese. It's a little like telling someone, "You fucked up, now do the right thing. Kill yourself."

I agree completely

Post: #8

Next!

Post: #9

Killing himself was the ultimate, "Whoops-a-daisy!"

Post: #10

Quote:...he escaped a blaze in his 10,000-sqaure-foot mansion in a posh part of Phoenix using a rope ladder and wearing scuba gear to avoid inhaling smoke.

Fucking...AWESOME!!!

Post: #11

(06-30-2012 06:59 PM)Lady Cop Wrote:  

(06-30-2012 06:53 PM)Ma Huang Sor Wrote:  Crazy fucking bastard.

crappy thing to do to his 4 kids. i don't know their ages. have to look it up.

2 grandkids also.

Yale Law school. wow. what a waste.

Chicken shit to do that to his kids. Suicide most selfish thing you can do to a family.

Post: #12

You own your own life, nobody else.

The guy climbed Everest, why stick around for a jail cell? Go out on top.

Post: #13

excellent observation...it's a long way from the rarefied air at the Everest summit, to a dank prison cell.

Post: #14

"Investigators hope to find out what he was thinking"


Probably something along the lines of "Fuck THIS."