– Former pilot and 9/11 conspiracy theorist shoots and kills 2 teen children, then himself (Boing Boing, Feb 4, 2013):
Phillip (alternately, “Philip”) Marshall, 54, a career airline pilot who claimed to have once served as a contract pilot for the CIA and DEA during the Iran-Contra affair, shot and killed his two teenage children, and the family dog, then killed himself.The apparent murder-suicide was discovered at the family home in an upscale gated golfing community in Murphys, California.
According to local news reports, teen friends of Alex Marshall, 17 (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), and Macaila Marshall (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), 14, noticed the siblings had not been active via text or social media updates since Thursday and went by the house on Saturday to check on them.
The last posts made by either child to Instagram and Facebook were dated Thursday night.
The friends told police that when they arrived, they found Phillip Marshall, 54, “lying in a pool of blood inside the home,” his 9mm Glock nearby.
Deputies believe the children were shot while sleeping on a couch.
The family dog was found shot to death in a nearby bedroom.
Marshall’s estranged wife Sean, the children’s mother, was out of the country at the time.
Phillip Marshall has been identified as a former pilot for Eastern and United airlines. He self-published a number of books, including at least two about his 9/11 conspiracy theories: “The Big Bamboozle” (February 9, 2012) and “False Flag 911: How Bush, Cheney and the Saudis Created the Post-911 World” (July 29, 2008).
A previous novel published in 2003, “Lakefront Airport, New Orleans,” detailed his claimed experience as a pilot for the US during Iran/Contra.
In his books and his social media bios (including multiple Facebook accounts, his Twitter account and a Tumblr), he claims to have served as a contract pilot for the CIA’s Special Activities Division during the Iran-Contra affair, flying shipments to and from Nicaragua.
He appeared on “outsider truth” shows like Coast to Coast to promote the theories in his books that 9/11 was an “inside job,” the result of a plot between the US government and the Saudis.
…
I am sorry he killed himself, the children and the dog. However, I think I understand the despair. I see no hope for this nation, and the future I envision is pure hell. Perhaps he thought he was doing them all a favor. We will never know, but this has become a very ugly world in a very short time…..especially if you pay attention.
Your own post on the world situation sums it up well. You see no hope for us, either.
I hope they are all in a better place.
The (alleged) investigation is such a hack job, it’s not even clear he did it.
One friend says he had the gun, but with all the kids around all the time, he had no bullets for it.
http://www.calaverasenterprise.com/news/article_71f9b8da-6e27-11e2-99e8-001a4bcf887a.html
tarquin feb 5, 2013
— excerpt
Phil was NOT depressed. He did NOT take his life. He did NOT murder his kids. Only a few days ago he said that “I have a gun, but it would be useless if I needed it because I got no bullets for it”, (then he laughed!). I knew Phil, and he had everything to live for and he doted over his two beautiful kids.
— end excerpt
And if you happen to doubt the official 9/11 theory, the implication is that KSM would be innocent. That’s the guy they waterboarded 183 times.
Whether or not Philip Marshall got anything right, he had 20,000 hours of flying time in the kind if aircraft used to hit the pentagon and he said it took him 4 tries in a flight simulator to hit the thing (on the only buttressed side) at the angles and speeds reported.
So let’s look at this issue of torture and whether or not it’s believable that KSM (a shoe-bomber type, according to Marshall) could have been the ‘mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks’.
Convenient, yes. Believable? Well, you decide. Philip Marshall was sure he was innocent.
We now enter Phillip Marshall’s Defense phase…
Re. “Phillip Marshall CIA” on the net.
Previously I analyzed the sheriffs’ report on their alleged investigation of the three deaths in Murphys CA, which supported their initial findings.
If the sheriffs hadn’t concluded that Phillip Marshall was the shooter in an alleged murder-suicide before doing their investigation, I probably wouldn’t be doing this. But they said that persons from outside had been “eliminated” the same day the bodies were found at 3 pm in the afternoon and puzzling inconsistent reports and loose ends remain troubling to this day.
Nobody has control of the evidence but the sheriffs and the coroner. And their investigation appears to be tailored to match their conclusion by cherry picking certain “conspiracy theory” points while not addressing the basic point, that if the man were still alive he’d have an opportunity to defend himself and if he were found innocent the real killer(s) who could still be at large might be apprehended.
The right to a defense is key to our notion of “establishment of justice” in this nation, and among the elements the founders considered crucial to this proposal, as seen in the US Constitution, Amendment 6, is the right to counsel and compulsory process to obtain witnesses for his defense.
The sheriffs apparently had no interest in defending the accused (Phillip Marshall) and only had an interest in debunking “conspiracy theorists”.
One such conspiracy theorist who has gained the most attention was Wayne Madsen who went to Murphys and investigated this issue himself and concluded that the CIA had executed the man and his kids. The key point and the weakness in his theory was that Marshall was shot in the left temple, though he was right handed. Where did Madsen get this report? Was it the same source that told the Union Democrat that the “official time of death” was when the bodies were found?
So numerous conflicting and/or absurd reports have come out about this case (I’ll call it a “case” because I’m handling Phillip Marshall’s defense in lieu of someone more capable), and since no photographic evidence of the crime scene appears to have been preserved (that we know of) to resolve these conflicting reports, the only evidence we do have is the sheriffs reports themselves, along with some followup media interviews which fill in the blanks or make sense out of the odd sounding parts of the third report. The third report is now two months after the event and which (as mentioned above) was not done before they had already concluded that Phillip Marshall was the shooter and appeared only to bolster their initial reaction to the appearance of the crime scene, which was published within two hours of finding the bodies if the report was typed up during normal business hours (assuming 5 pm).
The date of the first report is the date when the bodies were found.
http://sheriff.co.calaveras.ca.us/Portals/sheriff/Press/2013/Man%20Shoots%20Children%20then%20Himself%20in%20a%20Murder-Suicide.pdf
The update/correction report came out two days later.
http://sheriff.co.calaveras.ca.us/Portals/sheriff/Press/2013/Update-Correction_on_Murder-Suicide.pdf
Then two months passed before the third report.
http://sheriff.co.calaveras.ca.us/Portals/sheriff/Press/2013/Update_Marshall_Investigation.pdf
Phillip was characterized as a drug crazed, mentally ill “truther” in the media, and by the sheriffs themselves. That he was what has been called a “truther” (generally also a “Bush-basher” due to the 9/11 attacks occurring during the Bush administration) is not in dispute. But the evidence suggesting that he was mentally ill and/or drug crazed is weak or non-existent. Moreover, his parenting ability might be better than anyone expected, though this is not pointed out in the investigation. Nevertheless, it can be seen within the supposedly incriminating evidence against him found on the net an in the sheriffs own investigation reports.
Was Phillip Marshal drug crazed?
Phillip had had an alcohol problem in the past but appeared to have cleaned up. The mom, at around the same time had an opiate addiction and she too had apparently cleaned up.
[In 2008] Philip Marshall hid in the shower of his house with a video camera as Sean entered the home and allegedly stole a bottle of six 20-milligram pills of Kadian; a very strong opioid.
The police were called out and eventually arrested Sean Marshall, charging her with petty theft, trespassing and possession of drugs without prescription.
http://wearechangetv.us/2013/02/philip-marshall-lack-of-evidence/
The Calaveras County District Attorney’s Office charged Sean Marshall with petty theft, trespassing and possession of drugs without a prescription. Court records show the case continued in the Calaveras County Superior Court while she attended Alcoholics Anonymous and/or Narcotics Anonymous meetings. After providing an attendance card at a Sept. 28, 2009, hearing, all charges against her were dismissed.
http://www.uniondemocrat.com/News/Local-News/More-murder-suicide-details
Philip and Sean Marshall/Plummer both appeared to have resolved their drug/alcohol issues by early 2009. The conflicts and previous divorce issues arose during the time prior to them “getting on the wagon”. And the previous divorce proceedings were also dropped and the marriage continued up until a few months before they split up and Phillip moved back into his own home.
Why did Sean want a divorce again? Why was a note to Sean found in Phillips safe saying “Hi Sean” on a bag of marijuana? And why were the drugs in a safe in the first place?
This reflects on Phillip Marshall as a former airline captain and a parent: Were the drugs in the safe to keep the kids out of them (all of which were legally prescribed, including the marijuana)?
If they were not in the safe to keep the kids out of them it was to keep the mom, Sean Marshall/Plummer out of them. She’d robbed drugs from him before.
As Phillip has a right to a defense, it should be pointed out that if keeping the drugs, gun, bullets, etc. in the safe was to prevent the kids from getting into them, this suggests that he was a careful, caring parent.
Why the details about the safe were not forthcoming in a more timely manner (such as in the first or second media releases of their reports) is unknown. The last update comes two months after the first two hasty conclusions and gives the impression that the public had no right to know how they arrived at their conclusions.
Conclusions such as the snap decision that Phillip Marshall shot his kids in the living room, then the dog in the master bedroom and then himself back in the living room again. (If the dog was shot first, the kids could not have been “sleeping”.)
Was Phillip Marshall mentally ill?
That Marshall was taking Welbutrin (the common name) for something appears to be certain from the toxicology results. But what was it prescribed for?
PARENTS: Do you have any kids that are taking Welbutrin? This is indeed the same stuff Phillip Marshall was taking.
Some antidepressants are used to block pain. Welbutrin is not effective for this, and so it makes sense that Marshall would use additional drugs for the chronic back pain he suffered. The morphine and oxycontin both appear to have been prescribed to him and he appeared to have been using them properly as the amounts in his blood were a tenth the amount of the anitdepressant which itself degrades quickly if not kept at the “coldest possible temperature” before doing a toxicology analysis (according to a wikepedia article on the drug).
The sheriffs reports and interviews point out that Phillip Marshall was required to fill out a contract promising to take the drugs only as prescribed and not to attempt to get additional drugs from another source. This is very likely a standard form. But the “local clinic” that required this agreement was not specified in the report so we can’t verify this. Adding to the difficulty in verifying this using the internet (my only resource) is the fact that there are no “local clinics” in Murphys.
There have been no photographs forthcoming to verify that bedding was present where the kids were allegedly sleeping when shot. And no name of the “local clinic” in order to verify that the contract is standard.
We are beginning to see a pattern like a game of “keep away” where the sheriffs have the ball and the public is in the middle. All we want is the truth. And we deserve it in a timely manner.
But as is evidenced by the lack of a time of death which was “being evaluated” from day one and is still estimated as being between Thursday night and the Saturday afternoon when the bodies were found, timeliness doesn’t appear to be much of an issue to the sheriffs — or are we to presume a time of death will become more certain after a two month delay.
The two months was apparently necessary to just bifurcate the “official time of death” to possibly include the night before the kids failed to go to school. That is the only change regarding the time in the latest report.
Thursday night the kids quit posting on internet. (Jan 31)
Friday they didn’t go to school. (Feb 1)
Saturday they were found dead at 3 pm. (Feb 2)
This lack of diligence in getting the time of death down to at least within a day is unacceptable. Were the kids drinking on a Thursday night or on a Friday night. Was it night time?
But decibel tests were done on a Saturday morning. Around 10 am. Why? And what time of year was it when the tests were conducted? It had been the cold of winter when they died but was already substantially warmer by the time they released of the third report. (Feb 2 vs. March 29, just one day before April.)
It must have been night time if the kids were indeed sleeping at the time they were shot. Was the dad who was on the wagon aware they were drinking? (The dad was the only one without any alcohol in his toxicology results) What room or rooms was the beer and whiskey found in? Where is the self-portrait Macaila took of herself that night, and what room was she in when she took it?
Most of the above questions can be answered. But if there are no photographs of the crime scene, it is necessary to ask why no ‘evidence’ was preserved photographically because there are still many many unanswered questions about lots of missing details.
What criteria are used to determine whether or not a man is mentally ill or criminally inclined? Is it erratic, irrational behavior? Is it lack of openness, furtive, cagey, suspicious actions? Is it “medical records”?
As we read the third report/update of their investigation and get into the part about “records, medical records and reports” we get the very strong impression that the only “diagnosis” that determined that Phillip Marshall had a bipolar-disorder was the sheriffs own desire to believe it was so.
Are they again playing games with the public or is there actually “evidence” of this that they are not sharing with us.
Here are some of the bizarre statements that result in their conclusion 2 months after the deaths, that Phillip Marshall must have had a bipolar-condition.
1. According to records obtained, Marshall was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder. Additionally, the reports stated that he suffered periods of depression and mania, which led to his dismissal, or “grounding,” as a pilot in September 2006.
Question: Were these or were they not “medical records”? Were they actually just “airline records”? Did a doctor provide the diagnosis? In the 6 years since he was “grounded” had nobody else given the same diagnosis? Wasn’t he supposedly taking medicine for this alleged “bipolar disorder”? Both wives had been interviewed, and both mentioned his temper and impatience, but neither of them used this word. Could it be the sheriffs mistook bipolar-disorder for what was actually adult ADHD? (See “Welbutrin” at wikipedia.) We don’t know. We SHOULD know. But the reason we don’t know is because of the inability or unwillingness of the sheriffs to show the ‘evidence’.
Where did the one “diagnosis” of a bipolar-disorder that was cited actually come from?
2. A search warrant was served at a local clinic for Phillip Marshall’s medical records. The medical records noted that he suffered from chronic back pain, and was prescribed prescription narcotic pain medications for this condition. His medical records suggested that he also suffered from some sort of mental illness, drug dependency, anxiety, and depression.
Question: SUGGESTED? SOME SORT OF MENTAL ILLNESS?
What in the world kind of “medical record” would only suggest that “he also suffered from some sort of mental illness”? Weren’t previous records available to the clinic? Records that had the all-important “diagnosis”, that doesn’t really state anything conclusive, we presume was obtained from a legitimate medical professional?
The likelihood of a prescription being issued for Welbutrin to deal with “some sort of mental illness” is quite a stretch. The only thing consistent with this verdict handed down by the sheriffs is this game of “keep away” with the real evidence.
And so it goes. This is the new and improved “evidence” after the sheriffs determined with certainty that Phillip Marshall shot his kids while they were sleeping on a couch in the living room, then went into the master bedroom and shot the dog, and then went back into the living room and killed himself.
How did the sheriffs “rule out” anyone from outside having committed the murders only hours after the bodies were found? That doors were unlocked in the home should have been known within the first minute after they arrived at the scene.
Has any part of this so called investigation been objective, or has it all been tailored to shape opinions.
Here’s an interview with one of Phillips neighbors, a county supervisor that said she knew Phillip well. How did her mind change from feeling someone must have come into the home to “you never know what goes on behind closed doors”?
Watch Merita Callaway’s statements here.
http://www.calaverasenterprise.com/news/article_71f9b8da-6e27-11e2-99e8-001a4bcf887a.html
Intervew isolating Calloway’s remarks from the rest of the article:
“The actions don’t match the person we know,” said Merita Callaway, a county supervisor who lives four doors up the street from Marshall. She considered him a good friend. “I can’t tell you how many times we’ve had conversations over a cup of coffee together.”
“When I heard what happened, I couldn’t believe it,” Callaway said. “He loved his children.”
She received a call from a sheriff’s captain asking her ‘Do you think this was a murder suicide,” to which she replied, “I had a hard time with it. I truly felt like somebody came in the house.”
“What happened on Thursday that triggered this, if this was a murder suicide?” she asked. “Did he hate his family that much?”
That being said, Callaway said, “I don’t know what happens behind closed doors.”
—- end excerpts
[Note the “Thursday night” reference above.]
Indeed, that is the problem. You never know what goes on behind closed doors and so if the sheriffs have any real evidence, photographs of the crime scene (or artists cleaned up renderings for the public), Macaila’s self portrait, photocopies of the documents they say they have, or knowledge of the exact time of death (see note above), at the very least, the press should be allowed to see them, and better than that, some method of impartial review, because this game of “keep-away” is unacceptable to the public who entrust their safety to law enforcement personnel (see the US Constitution, Preamble).
If they are wrong. The killer(s) are still at large. Think about that for a moment.
And it’s totally unacceptable to my “client”, Phillip Marshall, who has a right to defend his name, even after death, which I have volunteered to attempt, though I never even met that man and I have zero expertise in law, and I have no college education in any subject.
I just a desire that this republic live up to the Constitution that is still the legally binding Supreme Law of the Land.
And because his kids can’t do it for him.
Note: For those who are technically minded, we don’t go into details such as how voids inside voids in blood patterns might not be apparent (like shadows not showing inside other shadows) because indeed we don’t know if the sheriffs even bothered keeping photographic evidence showing anything at all. There is no way to verify their findings and the home was immediately cleaned up. If photos exist that could be analyzed, the sheriffs seem to be playing keep-away with them too for some reason and it’s not worth trying to anticipate their next move in the game they are playing at this time.
Correction:
I have previously misreported that Phillip Marhshall had oxycontin in his blood toxicology. It was hydrocodone (vicodin).