Sources: Detectives agreed Scott killed himself, but brass balked
Evidence leaves no doubt Scott killed himself, coroner self
Autopsy evidence leaves no doubt that Chicago Public School Board President Michael Scott killed himself, Cook County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Nancy Lynne Jones said Tuesday.
Scott died from a “single contact-range, through-and-through gunshot wound to his head. That particular gunshot wound was self-inflicted,” Jones said.
(Keith Hale/Sun-Times)
PHOTO GALLERY
Michael Scott
Scott’s gunshot wound is the type the medical examiners office sees in suicides, not homicides, Jones said.
“This was a hard contact range gunshot wound, which means the gun was found directly against the head and actually pressed against the head, which is something we see in suicides,” she said. “It is the actual physical evidence on the body as well as physical evidence at the scene that leads us to that conclusion.”
Two Chicago police detectives were present during the autopsy Monday. They both concurred with the suicide finding made by deputy medical examiner Dr. Mitra Kalelkar, a 30-year veteran of the office, Jones said.
The autopsy showed the single gunshot wound to Scott’s left temple. (Scott was left-handed.) It also showed probable post-mortem wounds to Scott’s chin that were likely suffered after his face-first fall into the Chicago River. And it showed swelling around Scott’s right eye, possibly from skull fractures, sources said.
There were no other wounds or marks on Scott’s body that would suggest he was bound or in a struggle. Toxicology tests were ordered, but results were not available yet, Jones said.
Because Scott landed in water, some evidence on his body was contaminated. Medical Examiner’s office investigators did not inspect the death scene because police didn’t notify them before Scott’s body was removed from the river, Jones said.
That’s a violation of a state law that gives county coroners jurisdiction over the remains of a deceased person’s body, an offense that happens occasionally at death scenes, Jones said.
A Chicago police spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment today.
But despite the medical examiner’s certainty that Scott took his own life, Chicago police have said they are still investigating his death.
Law enforcement sources told the Sun-Times that it wasn’t until the Scott family and high-profile people close to Scott disputed the suicide finding that Chicago police brass decided not to close the case on Scott’s death.
Police detectives have not found a suicide note at the scene or at Scott’s home. But law enforcement sources say they are checking to see if Scott left one on his Blackberry, which was found on a concrete ledge near where his body was found.
Jones said the absence of a suicide note is common. In fact, fewer than half of people who commit suicide leave notes, she said.
Chicago police are still trying to find out who owned the .380 caliber pistol found under Scott’s body at the death scene. Scott’s family members have told investigators that the school board chief owned a gun, a law enforcement source said.
At about 3:15 a.m. Monday, Chicago police found Scott’s body face down in a foot of water next to an inoperable railroad bridge along the Chicago River at the Merchandise Mart Apparel Center.
Scott was a trusted adviser and friend of Mayor Daley, who over the years tapped Scott to serve as Chicago Park District board president and as a member of the Regional Transit Authority, the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority and the city’s 2016 Olympic committee. Scott also served in public posts under former mayors Jane Byrne, Harold Washington and Eugene Sawyer.
Earlier this year, Scott was swept up in a federal grand jury investigation of how students were selected for the system’s elite selective-enrollment high schools. Scott insisted he never tried to clout any students into those coveted schools.
People closest to Scott said the family remains in “absolute disbelief” that he could have committed suicide.
“They believe Michael was too ardent for life and just had too much more living to do,” said a source close to the family.