The story of Ronald Opus’s mysterious death took the world by storm. To everyone’s surprise, Ronald Opus, the victim, was found guilty of his own death. Dr. Don Harper Mills, an American Pathologist, and psychiatrist, shared this fascinating story in 1987 at the American Academy of Forensic Sciences.
A twisted turn of fate
Ronald Opus jumped off a ten-storied building to commit suicide. But as his body passed through the 9th floor, he was shot by a gun. The gunshot blasted through a window brought instant death to Ronald.
At the time of his death, the building has placed a safety net to safeguard some window washers. Both the shooter and the victim were unaware of this. Ronald could have been saved by the safety net if he had not been shot.
Plotting of the Victim
During a conflict, the shooter (Ronald’s father) aimed the gun at his wife (Ronald’s mother). But the shooter declared that he was unaware of the gun being loaded. The story took an unexpected turn when they discovered who had loaded the gun. Apparently, Ronald himself loaded the gun Six weeks before his death.
Ronald had a conflict with his mother and father as they cut off his financial support. Ronald knew how his father used the gun to threaten his mother when fighting. He loaded the weapon, hoping his father would accidentally kill his mother. Ronald plotted the murder, expecting to inherit all the wealth.
Real or Fake?
The story became a widespread discussion among many. People had doubts about identifying if the story was real or fake. In 1997, Dr. Don Harper Mills cleared the doubts in an interview. Dr. Mills mentioned that he made that story up to demonstrate how small facts can create massive changes in Legal consequences.
