After the passing of 79-year-old Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, reports have come in suggesting that an unusual circumstance may be a potential homicide case. Scalia was found in his luxury hunting ranch west of El Paso, Texas on Sunday, Feb. 13, 2016. What is suspicious, however, is that county officials did not order an autopsy for Scalia’s body, stating that the justice had died of natural causes.
The report regarding the discovery of Scalia’s body was clear-cut, yet it is how the officials responded that arises suspicions. One account says that he was acting normally, and that he went hunting, which was his favorite pastime, yet he did not show up for breakfast the next morning. It was that next morning when they found his body. Emergency personnel had to come from out of town, which is normal since Scalia’s ranch was remote and not part of any local municipality. Presidio County Judge Cinderela Guevara had declared the supreme court justice dead without actually seeing the body herself, nor warranting an autopsy.
While this is legal in the state of Texas, the lack of follow-through — especially with a victim of such a high status — is bound to raise suspicions among the country. There was plenty of questionable activity that requires, at minimum, a thorough look-over, such as where he went hunting, whether there were any closed-circuit televisions (CCTV’s) recording when Scalia came home that night, etc. Also, the statement that Scalia was found with a pillow over his head doesn’t help ease suspicions.
It is not just amateur speculators who have a problem with the lack of investigation for the possible homicide. George Washington University Professor of Law Jonathan Turley stated that, “Frankly, I’m surprised there was not an autopsy … I was also surprised on how casual the treatment of the scene appeared to be. I mean, you had someone pronounced dead over the description of marshals on the phone. This is not just anyone, this is a member of the U.S. Supreme Court, one of the highest officials in the judicial branch, therefore one of the highest officials in our government.” William O’Ritchie, the former commander of homicide investigations for Washington D.C, agrees with Turley, saying that, “ my gut tells me there is something fishy going on in Texas,”
If Guevara had been there herself, or if at least the body had been viewed by anyone with medical expertise, there wouldn’t be a problem. However, the lack of investigation into the death of such a high-caliber person like Scalia can be dangerous.
However, if all it took for an important official from Texas to be found dead in a remote area, and if all it takes is a county judge 10 miles away to declare them dead on the word of U.S. marshals, — without any kind of autopsy or medical examination — then it can easily become a method for powerful people with the capability to bribe county judges and marshals. For people to get away with murder. There is no proof that Scalia was murdered, but the protocols involved after his death can be used to clear up someone else’s murder if not corrected.
While there is no definitive proof that things are not what Texas officials claim, it is difficult to wonder why the discovery of the body was handled so casually with one the highest members of the entire government. If it were the body of the secretary of defense, or one of the members of the Joint Special Operations Command that was found, the investigation into their death would be extremely thorough, leaving no stone unturned, regardless of how lined-up things seem to be.
The lack of deep investigation at best raises suspicions, and at worst, dangerous conspiracy theories ranging from assassins hired from the highest level of the American government, or more extreme theories, like he was forced into hiding to fulfill the Democratic Party’s agenda. While these ideas are extreme, Guevara could have “taken all the wind out of the sails” of the conspiracy theorists by ordering the autopsy. With the autopsy to clear up any doubts with concrete evidence into the cause(s) of Scalia’s death, such extreme thoughts would never come to fruition.
