Was it suicide or murder?
Since the psychics who've responded to my questions on this forum have been so very helpful, I'd like to ask you to help me out one last time on something much more important than anything I've asked to date: Did my sister-in-law really commit suicide as the coroner's office has reported to us, or was this a botched murder investigation?
Here are the facts as we know them:
My sister-in-law, who was one year younger than I and three years younger than her brother (my husband), was living in Texas in 2001 and was in a relationship with a man who had several police reports filed against him for domestic abuse - some by my sis-in-law and some by his first wife. Although both my husband and I had begged her to leave the state, she had been told (by the ex-husband, whom she was seemingly having a "friendly" visit with on the day of her death) that he had "connections" who would be able to hunt her down and hurt her if she tried to run, so she remained within his reach until we got the call that she had died of a single gunshot wound to the head.
When my husband went to the morgue in Texas to claim the body, he was shown a photograph showing the exit wound as being below and behind her left ear, almost at the edge of her skull, with the entrance wound at her right temple. The problem is that the coroner's report, which we received well after her funeral here in Maine, states that the exit wound was ABOVE the left ear. (We've never managed to get a copy of the photgraphs my husband was shown in the morgue to prove whether the written report was incorrect.)
In going to the abusive ex-husband's home when he went to Texas to claim the body and dispose of his sister's worldly possessions that we couldn't afford to send home, my husband was told he couldn't be offered a seat in the living room because the ex had disposed of the couch "because that's where she died", yet the police report states she was on the floor of the home when the officers and EMT's arrived and that several attempts to revive her were made before she was pronounced dead. (Her hands were tested for gun powder residue, but despite the reports of having been shot at previously by the ex-husband's son in the very house where she died, the ex-husband's hands were never tested for gun powder - nor were his son's, who the ex claimed wasn't present at the time my sis-in-law "shot herself".)
While speaking with us on the phone before my husband went to Texas, in conversations while my hubby was in Texas, and after my hubby had returned home, the ex-husband told us "the story" about what happened on my sis-in-law's last day of life - but his story changed every time he told it. As a result, we don't know if she committed suicide during an argument, if she shot herself while playing Russian Roulette, or if she just walked out of the bathroom with gun in hand and killed herself before her shocked ex because she was so upset that he refused to get back together with her.
As a last note, we had to have our phone number changed twice ( to unlisted numbers) after my sis-in-law's death because her ex threatened to hunt US down here in Maine because we refused to allow him to have a stone made for her grave with HIS last name on it - partially because she is buried next to her mother in the family plot with OUR last name (that was on both her driver's license and the death certificate) and partially because WE footed the entire bill for the funeral and feel that, since he didn't pay a red cent for the funeral and had their marriage annulled after just six weeks with the claim she had "tricked" him into marrying her, that he doesn't have the right to claim her as his wife now that she's dead. (The reason it had to be done twice is that we gave the first one to a family member in Texas who shared it with the ex without our permission.)
This whole situation is tearing my husband apart every summer, for as the anniversary of her death draws near, he starts to mull it over in his head again - and blames himself for not forcing his sis to "get out of Dodge" while she was still alive. Since his mother always made him feel responsible for his younger sister's actions, he is ridden with guilt over her death, and the stress of it all is really starting to tell on us, especially since we were at a benefit concert with our children, enjoying the 4th of July holiday, while his sister was dying in Texas. My husband is haunted by the fact that, with all the inconsistencies, he can never know what really happened that day.
Can someone tell me if I should just let it all slide in hopes that, someday, my hubby will be able to get past his guilt feelings and just enjoy the 4th - or if I should be seeking a lawyer who can force the police to give us the information (especially those autopsy photos) that would be able to prove her ex-husband is responsible for her death so we can see the creep pay for what he did?
Thanks in advance for looking into this for us.
A response - and update - for all who answered me
My thanks to you all for your suggestions. I didn't get email notifications on the first two responses, but when the notification came for the third, I came in and read all at once.
Special thanks to ranieri for the answers my husband needs to see. There was a rumor that the ex-hubby had often enticed sis into games of Russian Roulette - and although he often wouldn't load the gun, the suspicion from many of her close friends was that he had put in more than just the one live round and made sure she got the gun first.
No charges need to be pressed against the ex, as we got word from his daughter in September of 2005 that he had died mysteriously in the same house where sis lost her life - and his wife at that time, whose divorce from him was to be finalized in October, refused to allow his family to have his ashes for a full military burial. We've been saying it was Karma catching up to him, but I've also had a feeling sis gained enough energy to "help" get justice.
Blessed be to you all, and thank you for the responses.