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Police rule suicide when a man is found with a gun on his lap and a bullet in his head, but some experts conclude it’s murder.  Danny Williams  Investigators claimed death was a suicide CASE DETAILS It’s a situation every parent dreads. Larry and Lois Williams hadn’t heard from their son, Danny, in nearly two days. So Larry decided to drive over to Danny’s house to see what he could find. After he let himself in with his own key:
 A gun was found in Danny’s lap As he entered the den, it was clear to Larry that Danny was dead:
Twenty-three year-old Danny Williams was Larry and Lois’s youngest son. He managed distribution for the family’s multi-million-dollar apparel manufacturing company. Larry Williams called the Galesburg Police. Chief John Schlaf described the police’s appraisal of the scene:
 Blood should have been on wall Larry Williams hired private detective, Mike Turnquist, to investigate. Soon, he had something to report; the police said Danny died very early Saturday morning. But a neighbor named Darlene Sayrs told Turnquist that she had seen Danny alive a full eight hours after the time of death:
The police dismissed the account, saying Mrs. Sayrs had her days mixed up. It was already established that Danny had been picked up by his mother on Friday, the day before he died. But Darlene did not change her account:
 A second gun shell was found under the couch Other witnesses noticed activity at Danny’s house on Sunday, 24 hours after he died. According to Chief Schlaf, at least one person reported seeing a young man with curly brown hair, approximately five feet, four inches tall. But Schlaf thinks the witness got something wrong:
Danny’s father claims that some of the physical evidence turned up by police argued against suicide. The bullet that supposedly killed Danny exited through his head and lodged in the wall. When the police removed the bullet, there was only one small spot, which appeared to be blood, on the paneling. Private investigator Michael Turnquist finds this suspicious:
By now, Larry Williams was convinced his son had been murdered. He brought in independent forensic scientist, Mark Boese:
Mark Boese used a laser luminescence scanner to look for blood evidence invisible to the naked eye. He found significant samples in several places, even on the television set:
 Trajectory of bullet proves suicide was impossible Blood analysis later revealed the presence of two different bloods types in the house.
The official police position was that the alleged type O blood samples were compromised by the crime scene clean-up crew. Samples of the blood were submitted to the Illinois State Crime Lab for testing. However, according to Cecilia Guzman, the lab claimed that the samples could not be definitively typed:
Chief John Schlaf was confident in his lab’s results:
According to Larry Williams, Mark Boese’s investigation appeared to turn up one new piece of evidence that undercut the police theory and supported his theory that the blood of two different people was in Danny’s house:
Private Investigator Mark Boese:
Next, Boese tried to match the bullet path to Danny’s position on the couch. According to Boese:
Mark Boese now believes that Danny was probably not shot in his house. Here’s how it might have happened: there was a fight somewhere else that left Danny and another person bleeding. That person took Danny’s keys out of his pocket, leaving behind a trace of type O blood, and drove Danny’s body back to his house. There, the crime scene was arranged to make Danny’s death look like suicide. But Chief Schlaf is not convinced:
Larry Williams was certain that the evidence points to foul play:
Was Danny Williams murdered or did he kill himself? The official coroner’s report lists Williams’ cause of death as “Uncertain.” Watch this case now on Amazon Prime in season six with Robert Stack and in season one with Dennis Farina. Also available on YouTube with Dennis Farina. Various seasons available now on Hulu. SUBMIT A TIP |
Brian
There is no way the police can be so incompetent in there investigation the only reason for this is the police were involved in the murder
Anonymous
Police officers only work homicide for a few years. The evidence collecting in this case was not done without faults. There should have been more blood found. There were arguments about the labs and cleaning crew. But you shouldn’t need a microscope to see the crime scene. The experts on the other side where also not without faults. We don’t know where point A of the trajectory was. I don’t know if the bullet hole described by the girlfriend was a different bullet hole. But even point B is uncertain. So overall the cleaning crew and evidence collecting really makes any determination inconclusive.
Remz
1. Gum shot into wall 6 months prior
2. Cops ruled suicide, got it wrong and won’t admit it.
3. Girlfriend definitely knows who it was who murdered Danny.
4. Anything can tie into him working for his family’s million dollar company.
Lazy cops, more like incompetent and inconsiderate… they know there is more but won’t admit it.
There is and isn’t blood evidence.
There is witnesses. Why multiple! witnesses have been dismissed is beyond me.
His friends or who ever he’s been in contact with, including work, have never been questioned?
I don’t think this city has a very good police force.. a lot of “undetermined” deaths.
Galesburg natuve
No the case has never been solved. It was never opened back up. Mr. Williams went to his grave never knowing who murdered his son. This town has a history of fudging investigations. Sorry but EVERY witness isn’t going to have it wrong. And since his neighbor knew everything about her neighbors I’m sure she would have heard a gunshot. It’s funny how only the O blood type samples were compromised but the type B weren’t. Umm ok
Bob
Think FBI needs to get involved looks like a dirty police station no time limit to murder and dirty cops. DIRTY COPS!!!
Anonymous
It is very unfortunate that Larry passed away. He was a good person. His interview to Unsolved Mysteries really had me thinking. He said that he always called Danny when entering his house. That made me wonder if Danny accidentally shot someone. In Illinois that is legal for a gun owner to do that in their house. But the person shot would of had to fight for his life.
Charlie Lane
I believe that the girlfriend knows who did it that the police know who did it and that either he’s connected to them or he is highly influential and the town because the girlfriend said clearly 6 months earlier he shot a hole in the wall okay oh we found a hole in the wall where there’s no blood well guess what did he might think that that could be the balloon shot six months earlier no so if anybody else thinks that’s funny that they found a helpful in a wall and we’re told that he shot the bullet the gun 6 months earlier into the wall you know
Jay
Definitely foul play.
Maqqabee
The sluggish police chief’s surname literally translates to “sleep.”
Seems about right.
UM fan
The police officer seemed so heartless and showed zero compassion whatsoever. I feel like we should be able to rely on the law enforcement to do their job and investigate thoroughly to get answers but man, i felt so bad for the family. I think it was murder.
thinkingoutloud
obviously he was murdered, but the cops were lazy and dismissed it as a suicide solely based on the fact of how the gun was positioned.
multiple witnesses claimed to have seen danny and then the police rule them out claiming they got it wrong….how useless and lazy of them.
maybe the police are involved. i wonder if they ever questioned any of dannys friends and what they had to say. apparently there’s no other bruising or cuts or scratches, so the shot was one and done. there’s got to be something else for them to work with, more questions need to be asked but the cops were so quick to rule everything else out.
and danny worked for the family’s’ multi-million family company…wonder if that has anything to do with his murder.
Gumshoe
Can’t have agreed with you more
Very sad for the family….
Gumshoe
Can’t agreed with you more
Very sad for the family….
NiK
It seems as though the police officers are too arrogant and firm in their ruling it should be reopened now with new technologies with the collected data. I believe it was murder simply by the wound and position of gun. We don’t get enough info. I think Danny befriended people and they messed up. Robbery or something else hmmm..
Anonymous
We can’t assume murder. It could have been self defense if someone else was shot first. But the crime scene looks tampered with.
Anonymous
By law if a scene is covered up, it has to be charged as premeditated murder. (Because planning goes into a cover up.)
John Brown
Suicide would have left a large mess.
Suicide would not have held on to the gun after the shot. Blood found in other rooms of the house. According to details of the case, almost no blood mess.
House of Cards
this really looks like the situation in house of cards… does anyone know if there’s any connection to it? im very curious
Anonymous
I have a relative that worked at Bri-Mar labs (Brain and Mark Boese) in the Chicago suburbs. She said the evidence points directly at a murder with a staged suicide. Cops are involved in the cover up. Danny was meeting someone for a drug deal.
joey
Have this solved yet
alfa0706
1. no witness from the gun sound
2. no messy blood
3. strange position of hand
4. two types blood with different spot
the fact is more likely to murdering than suicide. if it suicide I agree there would be messy blood and the strange is it doesn’t. and then the hand position with a gun in his lap it is obviously a setting, at suicide case when gun shot get to vital the hand will fall along with the gravity. any updates for this case?
Dkk
A lot of these case files are so frustrasting. There is never enough factual detail. Nothing to go on, just opinions. Opinions blur the lines between fact and fiction.
Anonymous
foul play