Thursday, February 27, 2014

AT LAST SOME USEFUL JOURNALISTIC COVERAGE

Mystifying Deaths for 2 Anti-Piracy Guards Story by the New York Times


Finally a Reliable News Source Tells Exactly Where the Bodies Were Found and Where the Heroin Traces and Syringe were Found.

MAERSK ALABAMA, "THE CAPT. PHILLIPS SHIP" (Photo U.S. Navy
"It was in Mr. Kennedy’s cabin, more than 12 hours later, that a ship security officer discovered the two men on Feb. 18. Mr. Reynolds was slumped on the bed, and Mr. Kennedy was lying face up on the floor, a syringe in his left hand, brown heroin powder in the room, according to police reports. It was unclear how long they had been dead." NY TIMES Article

 Where ever you see the words "New York Times" in this post in different color from the rest of the post that is a direct link to the pertinent NY Times story. The story contains a lot more details of the two security officer's last night alive. 

OUR ANALYSIS: We can now rule out accidental asphyxiation in a long closed compartment. However, given the location and the condition of the bodies we absolutely can't understand the almost immediate pronouncement that the deaths were not related to the decedent's security duties and that there as no evidence of foul play. The New York Times article tracks the known movements and what contact information was available during the final hours of the two security officers. The movements and contacts to our minds are consistent with either of two purposes the two may have had in going ashore . The most common explanation is that the two had somehow developed a drug addiction and went out to try to make a score, came back to the ship and accidentally over dosed or the drugs were cut with something toxic. However, the New York Times also did a pretty decent job of exploring the men's back grounds. The problem with the most common explanation is that it is completely inconsistent with the character of both men. What is not inconsistent with their character is the idea that they may have been out in the night spots that evening looking for leads to confirm or deny that the ship might be targeted for "mule work", the unknowing transport of a container or partial container load of drugs. They may have been killed for what they knew. We have to ask; why the rush to judgement? Why is it that almost as soon 
as the bodies were discovered the media was being told basically "NOT WORK RELATED".

 We certainly don't have all of the answers but we do have questions, and can't understand the rush to judgement. Check out the latest at the NEW YORK TIMES

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