WHITE CO.—The friends and family of a deceased young man originally from Mt. Vernon, Indiana, say they’re not convinced that he pulled the trigger twice on himself.
And they are so determined to learn the truth that before they buried Ryan O’Neil, 30, they ensured that another autopsy, this one done in Indiana, was conducted after the one done in Illinois by White County authorities.
Add that to the bizarre circumstances surrounding the living arrangements of his paramour, Rebecca Phelps Miller, and this makes for an intriguing article about an incident that may have an interesting outcome once all is said and done. Here now is the next feature in the “Read the Lead” series for the July-August 2013 edition, our second front-page lead story, “Shooting death said to be suicide—Family not convinced, still searching for answers“:
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Ryan O’Neil
WHITE CO.—Friends and family of a young man who reportedly died by his own hand in mid-July are questioning authorities’ versions of events that resulted in his death.
Ryan O’Neil, 30, originally of Mt. Vernon, Ind., but most recently living in the Dogtown area of White County (near Maunie, by the Wabash River), died from what’s being termed a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest in the early morning hours of Saturday, July 13, 2013.
What has family concerned is that there was a confirmed second wound to O’Neil’s leg, just below the groin area.
How the man could have shot himself twice, say his family, isn’t so much at issue as the sequence of the wounds: how would O’Neil have been able to inflict the second, deadly wound to the chest while suffering from the first, no doubt very painful, wound to the leg, is what they question.
However, White County authorities believe that’s just what happened, despite the family’s questions.
Exacerbating the situation is the woman O’Neil was seeing, and her situation in the area, which neighbors say is questionable at best.
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