Posted on 10/09/2005 4:56:03 AM PDT by LibertyRocks
A "psychological autopsy" could be used to help determine whether the death of former University of Oklahoma student Joel "Joe" Henry Hinrichs III was a suicide, an accident or a dangerous plot gone awry, an Edmond psychologist said. The UCLA-developed tool would study Hinrichs' behaviors, emotions and movements for the past six months, Stewart R. Beasley said.
The information could be used to estimate the possibility that the OU engineering student took his own life, Beasley said.
Local medical experts said the explosion near the OU football stadium will continue to leave unanswered questions.
The explosion "was a planned event ... and not a sudden impulse," said Dr. Gordon H. Deckert, retired psychiatry professor at the OU Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City.
Hinrichs "wanted to call attention to himself," Deckert said.
He "was proclaiming to the surrounding world that he was dying. This was no quiet suicide," Deckert said.
Perhaps the college environment provides a clue or two, Beasley said.
"A university campus is a dangerous place for students who are fragile or unsettled in their lives," Beasley said.
Suicide is the third-leading cause of death among people ages 15 to 24.
"When adolescents feel trapped and see no other way out, suicide becomes an option to them. Failure to make grades, a broken love relationship or disappointment in oneself can push a university student over the edge," Beasley said.
"It's difficult to say what this young man was thinking and what his motivation was. There is the possibility that he didn't intentionally cause the explosion that took his life," he said.
Beasley and other local health professionals said people who want to make personal or political statements often do so in "flamboyant ways."
"It has become a daily occurrence in the Middle East. Invariably, these types of suicides catch the eye of the media and the message is carried forth even though the 'messenger' is no longer around," Beasley said.
Some people, he said, are severely mentally ill and have completely lost touch with reality. They live in their own fantasy world. They show little regard for their own lives and even less regard for the lives of others.
Some suicides are "anger-based suicides and the suicide act is seen as the ultimate expression of their anger. Their 'illogical' logic is 'I'm so mad at you that I'm going to kill myself,'" Beasley said.
Making a statement Hinrichs' death, local health experts said, certainly was an act that made a statement for him.
"But we may never know exactly what that statement was," said Dr. Arthur Rousseau, a psychiatrist with a private practice in northwest Oklahoma City.
Most suicides, Rousseau said, are self-destructive acts with little or no notoriety. They aren't "public productions."
Investigators are treating the death as a suicide.
Suicides normally involve a shooting, hanging or drug overdose -- not something so public, he said.
Hinrichs may have been depressed or "believed he was a failure in life," Rousseau said.
Yet, Deckert said, "We don't yet know what he was angry at. We may never know."
"If this young man was truly going to send a message, I believe he would have found a way to get into ... (the) stadium and make his major statement by causing an explosion there," Beasley said. "There is not much of a message in this young man's suicide unless the explosives were detonated prematurely -- preventing him from making a larger statement where more human beings would be killed."
Premature detonation is a common problem.
...among inexperienced suicide bombers.
Ping for a new article posted this morning...
"Behaviors may aid investigation, experts say"
Couldn't we just ask Bob Woodward to interview him?
You're right. What I'm thinking is that since he failed to get in with the backpack on his person he was attempting to conceal it on his person when it went off. Seeing that it was a "remote controlled" device raises other possibilities, but at this point a "premature detonation" is the most likely cause of his death, IMHO.
More touchy, feely nonsense to lull the general dumb public back to sleep.
"The UCLA-developed tool would study Hinrichs' behaviors, emotions and movements for the past six months..."
Since he's dead, how are they going to pull that one off? Intrview his Muslim buddies?
Sounds like a crock to me.
You're right. All the articles about the explosive he was using indicate that it's very unstable, in that sense somewhat similar to nitroglycerin. In the days before dynamite was developed the handlers of nitro had very short life spans due to repeated "work accidents."
Geez, the so-called "investigators" for this behavioral autopsy have already concluded the outcome: "It's a suicide." What a bunch of dummies.
Good thing FBI profilers don't share that opinion.
Well said, and I completely agree.
Much can be learned from going over his cash and credit card receipts and by questioning the people around him. Find out what movies he was renting, what he was reading, who he was talking to and what was said, what and where he was eating (would establish if he was adhering to an Islam diet), what kind medication he was on (if any).
The issue here is actually quite simple. If it was a simple suicide, fuggedaboutit. But, if his motive turns out to be Islamic (even if he had second thoughts or just failed in his attempt to get into the stadium), there is a case and there are most likely guilty co-conspirators, who, if not stopped, might strike again.
the fact is he tried to buy amoniam nitrate 2 days before. Generally suicidal people do not buy farm products since they see themselves dead before the rainy season. It is amazing how quickly the FBI can reassure us there is no plot or terrorism.
I think the FBI and all law enforcement like to withhold opinion when it is pure speculation. But all the early evidence points to terrorism.
And, if he was depressed already, he would have been a ready-made patsy for some Islamic planners. Just start pushing the 72 virgins pap and this kids hormones start voting for martyrdom.
If this was a "Mother of Satan" (forgot the chemical name) bomb, then chances are excellent it was an unintentional booboo.
TATP is the term you're looking for, and yes, it is highly volatile from what I understand.
I should also add that this is what reports state at least a portion of this particular device was made of.
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