Suicide or Murder: The Curious Case of Ronald Opus

CAN YOU ANSWER THE QUESTIONS?

Some have maintained that the curious case of Ronald Opus is a true one. Others have said that the story has been debunked; that this case is nothing more than an urban legend.

In the end, it matters little. The open-minded reader should examine the particulars of the case and see if he doesn’t agree with that assessment.

There are a few questions at the end.

The Curious Case of Ronald Opus

On March 23, 1994, a medical examiner viewed the body of Ronald Opus and concluded that he died from a gunshot wound of the head caused by a shotgun. Investigation to that point had revealed that the decedent had jumped from the top of a ten-story building with the intent to commit suicide. (He left a note indicating his despondency.) As he passed the 9th floor on the way down, his life was interrupted by a shotgun blast through a window, killing him instantly. Neither the shooter nor the decedent was aware that a safety net had been erected at the 8th floor level to protect some window washers, and that the decedent would most likely not have been able to complete his intent to commit suicide because of this.

Ordinarily, a person who starts into motion the events with a suicide intent ultimately commits suicide even though the mechanism might be not what he intended. That he was shot on the way to certain death nine stories below probably would not change his mode of death from suicide to homicide, but the fact that his suicide intent would not have been achieved under any circumstance caused the medical examiner to feel that he had homicide on his hands.

Further investigation led to the discovery that the room on the 9th floor from whence the shotgun blast emanated was occupied by an elderly man and his wife. He was threatening her with the shotgun because of an interspousal spat and became so upset that he could not hold the shotgun straight. Therefore, when he pulled the trigger, he completely missed his wife, and the pellets went through the window, striking the decedent.

When one intends to kill subject A but kills subject B in the attempt, one is guilty of the murder of subject B. The old man was confronted with this conclusion, but both he and his wife were adamant in stating that neither knew that the shotgun was loaded. It was the longtime habit of the old man to threaten his wife with an unloaded shotgun. He had no intent to murder her; therefore, the killing of the decedent appeared then to be accident. That is, the gun had been accidentally loaded.

But further investigation turned up a witness that their son was seen loading the shotgun approximately six weeks prior to the fatal accident. That investigation showed that the mother (the old lady) had cut off her son’s financial support, and her son, knowing the propensity of his father to use the shotgun threateningly, loaded the gun with the expectation that the father would shoot his mother. The case now becomes one of murder on the part of the son for the death of Ronald Opus.

Now comes the exquisite twist. Further investigation revealed that the son, one Ronald Opus, had become increasingly despondent over the failure of his attempt to get his mother murdered. This led him to jump off the ten-story building on March 23, only to be killed by a shotgun blast through a 9th story window.

The medical examiner closed the case as a suicide.

QUESTIONS

The main question this writer is prompted to ask: Where will Ronald Opus wake up: in heaven or hell?

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”
–Hebrews 9:27

Committing suicide breaks the sixth law of God: thou shalt not kill (or murder) –this includes the taking of one’s own life.

“Thou shalt not kill.”
–Exodus 20:13

Poor Ronald! He is not only dead: he broke the sixth commandment in the process!

If only he had known Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Saviour, he would not have placed himself in that unfortunate situation. Ronald would have known “the peace that passeth all understanding.”

“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

IF he had been saved from the stranglehold of sin, Ronald Opus, at the end of his days, would have been bound for glory: secure in the peace that comes from knowing that an eternity with his Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ awaited him.

If you were to die suddenly, where would you wake up?

If you do not know Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, it only takes a minute to secure the eternal salvation that Ronald Opus now wishes he had had.

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
–John 14:6

Jesus came to earth and died to open the doors of heaven to all mankind–because all have sinned.

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
–Romans 3:23

Do You Know if You are Going to Heaven?  Be Sure!

Additional information can be had from reading through Eternal Salvation Through Jesus Christ: Salvation Messages from End Times Prophecy Report.

Don’t delay.

One of the devil’s best tricks is to convince you that you have all the time in the world.  But you don’t.  No one does.

Take a minute or two and save yourself an eternity.

Click this link: Be sure!

NOTE: Turns out, the story of Ronald Opus is a fictitious one. However, your eternal salvation is very real. Don’t wait another minute: Click this link: Be sure!

Not saved?

The gospel of Christ has the power to save!

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
—Romans 1:16

THE GOSPEL

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”
–1 Corinthians 15:1-4 – (h/t:B)

Related articles

• Philadelphia Building Inspector Commits Suicide (guardianlv.com)
• Satan: Humanity has an Enemy: Christians Too
• End Times Prophecy Headlines: June 24, 2013
• Woman’s suicide turns out to be honour killing (beta.dawn.com)
• Ye Must be Born Again!
• Suicide cases worry police (fijitimes.com)
• Culture of Death: June 24, 2013

by Jeremiah J. Jameson

© Jeremiah J. Jameson and End Times Prophecy Report, 2012-13. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jeremiah J. Jameson and End Times Prophecy Report with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.