"Suicides" and "accidents" - The official RI thread

[Cordelia]

"A former aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was found dead in a US hotel four months ago, died of head injuries, US coroners say.

Mikhail Lesin, 57, also had blunt force injuries to the neck, torso, arms and legs, Washington DC's chief medical examiner said, without concluding how the injuries had been sustained.

Russian media had reported Lesin's death as a suspected heart attack."

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-35781333

Russian Millionaire & Founder of RT Discovered Dead In Washington DC Hotel Room



Washington DC – It was reported late on Friday that Mikhail Lesin, the former head of media affairs for the Russian government, and the founder of Russia Today (RT), was found dead in the hotel room that he was staying at in Washington DC.

Lesin, who is said to be a close associate to Russian President Putin, was staying at the Hotel Dupont when he passed away this week, and very few details about the case have been made public. According to ABC, the Metropolitan Police Department is now investigating his death, but his family was quick to say that the cause of death was a heart attack.

Lesin’s death comes at a time where he was surrounded in controversy, especially in the US. RT, the Russian-based news source that Lesin founded has become very controversial in the US for challenging the western narrative of foreign policy and privacy issues. Some US politicians have suggested that RT be banned in the US for “spreading propaganda,” while others have been blatant enough to attack Lesin personally.

Some US Senators, including Roger Wicker of Mississippi, recently called for the Department of Justice to open an investigation into Lesin’s finances.

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/putin- ... otel-room/

[/quote]

[seemslikeadream]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qKjfZJ2PMw

[Nordic]

Sarah Kershaw.

She wrote an article for the NYT about people who believed they were victims of MK ULTRA.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2008/11/13/fa ... g-mkultra/

In February of this year, she committed suicide (officially):

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/02/27/bu ... at-49.html

Sarah Kershaw, a former reporter for The New York Times who covered real estate, the Pacific Northwest and New York City schools, died on Monday at her home in Sosúa, a beach town in the Dominican Republic. She was 49.

She was found with a plastic bag tied over her head and pill bottles beside her, said Osvaldo Bonilla, a prosecutor for the province of Puerto Plata, who is investigating her death.

Officials are awaiting the results of toxicology tests before determining the cause of death, but Ms. Kershaw told friends that she planned to end her life because she suffered from a debilitating illness, Mr. Bonilla said. Contrary to an initial report released by the Dominican National Police, Ms. Kershaw was not strangled, he said.

Her husband, William Paul Norton, was held for questioning but was released without charges.

Ms. Kershaw joined The Times in 1995 as a news clerk, writing articles about New York City schools and New Jersey on a freelance basis, before leaving for Newsday. She returned to The Times in 2000 and covered local news until her promotion to bureau chief in Seattle. She later wrote for the Styles and Real Estate sections.

Before joining The Times, she worked at The Oakland Tribune and for news outlets in Venezuela.

Ms. Kershaw was known for her ability to spot trends and produce quirky feature articles. She wrote about an enclave for older lesbians in Alabama and teenage bulimic alcoholics who suffered from what therapists called “drunkorexia.” An article about a treadmill being built for a lonely elephant in Alaska was a personal favorite.

“We called it the ‘Kershaw Inquisition,’ ” said her sister, Amy A. Kershaw. “When she met new people or encountered a new topic, she explored both with enthusiasm, genuine curiosity and zeal.”

Sarah Stratton Kershaw was born on Jan. 12, 1967, in Princeton, N.J., to David Kershaw and Nancy L. Goldner. When her parents’ marriage ended, she lived with her mother and sister in Brooklyn, London and Brookline, Mass., before returning to Princeton.

She graduated from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where she worked at the college paper, The Daily Cardinal, and met Mr. Norton, whom she married much later. Her previous marriage ended in divorce.

Ms. Kershaw received a master’s degree from Columbia University.

This article claims she may have been investigating some shady GE facility being built in the Dominican Republic (where she died). Interesting links there but they're in Spanish so I can't tell you how solid they seem.

http://www.abreureport.com/2016/02/murd ... wrote.html

What kind of freaked me out is in the story she originally wrote about those believing they were MK ULTRA. Victims is this ad, which appears twice as you scroll down. Is it me, or is there something extremely creepy about this??

https://imgur.com/8d8SJ3c

Anyone else find this oddly disturbing? I didn't click on the link. I didn't want to be "whisked away" and "fall under the spell".

[MinM]

Monday, April 25, 2016
Something the assassination of JFK made everyone forget

Take a look at this. This is from the Seatle Post Intelligencer November 22, 1963, EXTRA edition.

this appears on page 13.

Mrs. Gertrude Noval was questioned for 2 and 1/2 hours in secret on 11/22/63. She was testifying about Bobby Baker, a one time very close aide of LBJ. She was married to Alfred Novak. He died in March 1962. His death was ruled a suicide. This committee was going to look into Alfred Novak's death.

Now add that onto the testimony Don Reynolds was giving on 11/22/63.

Posted by Joseph Backes at 5:21 PM

[Nordic]

http://linkis.com/www.hamhigh.co.uk/ne/X7utx

Renowned lawyer who represented Julian Assange died after being struck by train in West Hampstead

17:53 23 April 2016 Rachel Roberts

One of the UK’s most respected international criminal lawyers who was representing Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has died after being hit by a train in West Hampstead.

Married father of two John Jones, QC, worked at renowned legal chambers, Doughty Street and died last Monday morning. Police say they are not treating the death as suspicious.

The 48-year-old barrister has been described as “a giant in his field” by colleagues, who said that his death is “a monumental loss to the cause of international justice and human rights.”

Oxford graduate Mr Jones, who took silk in 2013, specialised in extradition, war crimes and counter-terrorism, representing clients from around the world in high profile cases.

He was part of a team of lawyers acting to prevent the extradition of Julian Assange - holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy for four years - whose case is currently being heard by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

Mr Jones was also working with his colleague Amal Clooney to try and halt the execution of Colonel Gaddafi’s son Saif and Libyan spy chief Abdullah-al Senussi.

Earlier in his career, he helped bring to justice some of those responsible for genocide in the former Yugoslavia as part of the UN’s International Criminal Tribunal, working to establish procedures that were used in the historic trials.

As well as his criminal law work, Mr Jones acted as a human rights lawyer, saving a 19-year old from the death penalty in Singapore, fighting on behalf of journalists for free speech in Africa, and making representations to the UN to prevent torture.

He joined Doughty Street in 2005, where he worked alongside some of the UK’s top barristers, including Keir Starmer, MP for Holborn and St Pancras, who remains an associate tenant there.

Mr Starmer, who knew Mr Jones well, said: “John made a huge contribution to international justice. His loss is felt deeply by all his friends and colleagues, and all our thoughts are with his family and friends.”

Doughty Street Chambers said in a statement: “The passing of John Jones QC is a monumental loss to the cause of international justice and human rights worldwide. He was a pioneer, at the forefront of establishing our modern system of international criminal justice, and a giant in the field.

“John was a good friend, great colleague and a brilliant and creative lawyer.

“John was admired and appreciated for his amazing sense of humour, his professionalism and his deep commitment to justice and the rule of law.

“His death is a huge loss for all of us in Chambers, for the British and international legal profession, but mostly for his family to whom we offer our sincerest and deepest condolences.”

The statement also praised Mr Jones for his wit, eloquence and benevolence. His colleagues said: “John prepared humbler cases with a rigour equal to his higher profile ones. He constantly gave his services for free, and his generous spirit and selfless devotion came at some cost.”

Mr Jones lived in Kentish Town with his wife and two young children.

A statement from British Transport Police said officers attended West Hampstead rail station at 7.07 on Monday morning after a man was struck by a train.

It said: “He was pronounced dead at the scene. The man’s death is not being treated as suspicious. A file will be prepared for the coroner.”

[Iamwhomiam]

Wow! He was hit by a train? We got the 'who' and the 'what' but not the 'where'.

Perhaps that's some sort of code, or crafty editing: His hit was carried out by a trained assassin.

[zangtang]

West Hampstead train station, before 7:07 am.
edit: - 'struck by a train' is vey often euphemism for 'jumped in front of',
or used before confirmation either way.......

[PufPuf93]

An internet search shows up a number of short articles regarding the recent suicide of blogger Gary Welsh. The comments sections are active and cite other detail: specifically, Gary Welsh is the individual that came up with the photo of Ted Cruz's father with Lee Harvey Oswald and soon thereafter Cruz with drew from his campaign for POTUS.

http://www.ibj.com/articles/58378-blogg ... nt-suicide

Blogger Gary Welsh dies in apparent suicide

May 1, 2016

IBJ Staff


Prominent Indianapolis blogger Gary Welsh has died, according to Indianapolis police, who say they are investigating the death as a "tragic suicide."

Welsh, 53, wrote the widely followed conservative blog Advance Indiana, which he launched more than a decade ago. He also was a practicing attorney.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department's incident report says officers were dispatched to the Lockerbie Glove Factory Lofts, 430 N. Park Ave., before 8 a.m. Sunday after receiving a report of a person found shot in the stairwell of the building. The witnesses who called 911 reported that a gun was next to the body.

IMPD Capt. Richard Riddle said he expects an autopsy will be conducted Monday. He said the Marion County Coroner's Office will determine the official cause of death.

Welsh was known for hard-hitting blog posts that took swipes at both Democrats and Republicans.

His final post, published Friday, summarized the latest poll results in the GOP presidential primary battle between Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

His post included this disconcerting line: "If I'm not around to see the vote results, my prediction is that Trump wins Indiana with just shy of 50% of the vote, but he will carry every single congressional district and sweep the delegates—assuming the party-chosen delegates honor their rules-bound commitment to support the winner on the first ballot."

Jim Klimek, an attorney and friend who worked across the hall from Welsh in the Chamber of Commerce Building on Meridian Street, said that Welsh had been depressed lately, in part because the blog was extremely time consuming but generated little revenue.

[Sounder]

I apologize, that was just stupid.

[zangtang]

they could be insane ramblings of a man who spent a week writing a suicide note explaining why he was committing suicide using information found to be true.

Difficult to know what to do other than look at the headlights......................................

[norton ash]

I dunno... powerful smell of bullshit emanating from this story. Superstation95 looks like a suburb of AlexJonestown.

[norton ash]

http://www.snopes.com/new-york-ice-agent-suicide-note/

Only SuperStation95 reported on the alarming details of suicide note purportedly left at the scene (without any background information on how they came to be in possession of such a sensitive document).

Superstation95 is an online presence that is neither a "superstation" nor a legitimate news source, but rather a repository of misinformation from Hal Turner, a white supremacist who was sentenced in 2010 to 33 months in prison for making death threats against three federal judges. (The individual listed on the site's "Contact" page is Turner's criminal lawyer.)

Eh, voila. I don't believe in using Snopes as a gatekeeper, but this story was way over-the-top. Shame on Turner for exploiting a suicide, and the best thing I can call you is a sucker, Sounder.

[Sounder]

You are right in this case norton, I should have at least commented on the the unlikely ability of this source to obtain a suicide note.

My bad, tail tucked.

[cptmarginal]

Official snared in bribery case dies in suspicious crash - 24 May 2016

OPA-LOCKA, Fla. (AP) — A Florida city official died in a suspicious single-vehicle crash a day before he was scheduled to surrender in a criminal corruption case involving thousands of dollars in bribes, authorities said Tuesday.

Opa-locka city commissioner Terence Pinder, 43, died Tuesday after the city-owned vehicle he was driving crashed into a large banyan tree, officials said. The tree is located in an undeveloped part of Miami-Opa-locka Executive Airport, far from any major road and surrounded mostly by grass.

[cptmarginal]

Just adding this here without comment. Read up on the earlier pages of this thread...

http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2016/0 ... 464629741/

Suicide of Zurich Insurance executive Martin Senn announced

His death follows the suicide, three years ago, of another Zurich Insurance executive.

By Ed Adamczyk - May 30, 2016 at 2:35 PM

KLOSTERS , Switzerland, May 30 (UPI) -- Swiss police are investigating the apparent suicide of former Zurich Insurance Group CEO Martin Senn, officials said Monday.

Senn, 59, resigned from the company in December, citing the company's business setbacks under his direction. A spokesman for the police in Switzerland's Graubunden canton, where Senn had a vacation home, confirmed the death; Senn's family reported it as suicide.

His death follows, by three years, the suicide of Pierre Wauthier, 53, Zurich Insurance Group's former chief financial officer. Wauthier left behind a note mentioning internal tensions within the company, and undue pressure placed on him by then-chairman Josef Ackermann. A probe by Swiss financial regulators cleared company leaders of placing inordinate stress on Wauthier, but Ackermann resigned shortly after the suicide.

Swiss media reports said Senn shot himself Friday. The Graubunden police did not confirm the means of death, but said no suicide note has been found.

When he left the company in December, Senn cited problems in revamping its business and its failure to acquire the British insurer RSA Insurance Group PLC. In February, Zurich Insurance announced a larger-than-expected fourth quarter loss, adding about 15 percent of the company's employees would be affected by new cost-cutting policies.

A statement Monday by Zurich Insurance read in part, "With the passing of Martin, we lose not only a highly valued former CEO and colleague, but also a close friend."

Damn those pesky Gnomes of Zurich