He is the Marine Captain that was found shot on his bed and the military quickly dismissed it as a suicide but his parents believe he was murdered. Here's some additional info on the case:

"THE NCIS TRIED TO CONVINCE BILL AND DONNA DIGMAN THAT THEIR SON,
MARINE CAPT. JEFFREY DIGMAN , SHOT HIMSELF IN THE HEAD IN JANUARY
1989, EVEN THOUGH HE WOULD HAVE HAD TO CONTORT HIMSELF UP-SIDE DOWN TO
PRODUCE THE BULLET TRAJECTORY.

THE FAMILY'S FORENSICS EXPERTS FOUND INJURIES ON DIGMANS CHEEK, ELBOW
AND FINGER CONSISTENT WITH A STRUGGLE .

THE BULLET ENTERED INTO THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE HEAD OF THE LEFT HANDED
CAPTAIN.

AND THE FORENSIC EXPERT SAID SOME ONE PROBABLY SHOT DIGMAN AND
REARRANGED HIS BODY.

ONE SUNDAY IN JANUARY 1989, LUCY GARCIA DROVE TO THE AIRPORT IN SAN
JUAN, PUERTO RICO, TO PICK UP HER BOYFRIEND.

MARINE CAPT. JEFFREY DIGMAN HAD ASKED HER TO MEET HIM AS HE RETURNED
FROM HOMELEAVE IN CALIFORNIA. SHE RECALLS MAKING SURE SHE LEFT EARLY
ENOUGH TO MEET HIS PLANE ON TIME, FOR JEFFREY WAS METICULOUS. HE HAD
GIVEN HER PRECISE FLIGHT INFORMATION AND ASKED HER TO HAVE HIS DRESS
BLUE UNIFORM CLEANED FOR AN INSPECTION THE NEXT DAY.

JEFFREY DIGMAN NEVER ARRIVED. HE WAS LYING DEAD ON HIS BED IN
TEMECULA, CALIF., THAT EVENING, SHOT THROUGH THE HEAD WITH A REVOLVER.
THE RIVERSIDE COUNTY (CALIF.) SHERIFF'S OFFICE AND NAVY INVESTIGATORS
LATER SAID THAT DIGMAN - SO DRUNK THAT HIS BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVEL WAS
TWICE THE LEGAL LIMIT - HAD COMMITTED SUICIDE.

THE CASE WAS QUICKLY CLOSED, EVEN THOUGH INVESTIGATORS DID NOT FIND
THE FATAL BULLET, COULD NOT DETERMINE IF THE .44 MAGNUM HANDGUN FOUND
NEXT TO DIGMAN'S BODY HAD KILLED HIM, AND HAD NOT TESTED DIGMAN'S
HANDS TO DETERMINE WHETHER HE HAD FIRED A WEAPON.

IN ADDITION, THE LEFT-HANDED CAPTAIN WAS SHOT ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF HIS
HEAD, AND THE WOUND WAS NOT THE STAR-SHAPED TYPE NORMALLY ASSOCIATED
WITH SELF-INFLICTED GUNSHOTS. EVEN A YEAR LATER, AFTER A SECOND
AUTOPSY REVEALED INJURIES SUGGESTING A STRUGGLE, THE AGENCIES HELD TO
THEIR SUICIDE RULING.

TO LUCY GARCIA- AND TO KIGMAN'S PARENTS - JEFFREY'S ACTIONS IN THE
DAYS AND HOURS BEFORE HIS DEATH HARDLY SEEMED THOSE OF A MAN PLANNING
TO TAKE HIS LIFE.

WHEN SHE SPOKE TO HIM ON THE PHONE A FEW DAYS BEFORE HE DIED, GARCIA
SAID IN AN INTERVIEW, DIGMAN "SEEMED TOTALLY NORMAL, HIS USUAL SELF,
TALKING ABOUT THE THINGS WE WERE GOING TO DO WHEN HE GOT BACK."

ABOUT 50 MINUTES BEFORE HE DIED, A FRIEND SAID, DIGMAN TOLD HER BY
PHONE THAT HE WAS AWAITING A RIDE TO THE AIRPORT. GEMA PFEIFFER SAID
IN AN INTERVIEW THAT DIGMAN, 30, "SOUNDED COMPLETELY NORMAL, NOT
SUICIDAL."

ALTHOUGH DIGMAN SOMETIMES DRANK HEAVILY, PFEIFFER SAID, SHE COULD NOT
TELL OVER THE PHONE WHETHER HE WAS DRUNK.

WILLIAM DIGMAN, A RETIRED ENGINEER, AND DONNA DIGMAN, A REAL ESTATE
AGENT, REFUSED TO BELIEVE THEIR GUNG-HO MARINE SON TOOK HIS LIFE. THEY
SAID THEY HAVE SPENT ALMOST $100,000 TRYING TO PROVE HE WAS MURDERED.

THE DIGMANS SAY THEY ARE DETERMINED TO REMOVE THE STAIN OF SUICIDE
FROM THEIR SON'S LEGACY. BUT IN DOING SO , THEY HAVE HAD TO CONFRONT
PAINFUL REMINDERS OF HIS VIOLENT DEATH JUST A FEW MILES FROM THEIR
HOME IN CYPRESS, CALIF.

FIRST, THEY HAD TO ENDURE THE EXHUMATION OF JEFFREY'S BODY A YEAR
LATER SO THAT A SECOND AUTOPSY COULD BE PERFORMED BY NAVY DOCTORS.

THEN , IN A BEDROOM OF THE HOME WHERE JEFFREY GREW UP DREAMING OF
BECOMING A MARINE, THE DUGMANS BUILT AN ELABORATE MOCKUP OF HIS DEATH
SCENE. THEY MOVED IN HIS FURNITURE AND BELONGINGS AND PLACED THEM IN
PRECISELY THE SAME POSITIONS AS IN THE BEDROOM WHERE HE DIED.

IN THE MOCKUP, DOWN THE HALL FROM THEIR BEDROOM, JEFFREY'S DEATH WAS
REPLAYED ENDLESSLY. "IT GOT TO WHERE I COULDN'T STAND THE SIGHT OF
THAT BED, "DONNA DIGMAN SAID., "BUT IT WAS SO IMPORTANT IN SHOWING
WHAT HAPPENED, WE JUST LEARNED TO PUT UP WITH IT. WE OWE IT TO
JEFFREY."

ON THE CEILING, BILL DIGMAN SAID, HE MARKED A SPOT COINCIDING WITH THE
HOLE LEFT IN THE CEILING OF JEFFREY'S HOME BY THE BULLET THAT PASSED
THROUGH HIS SKULL AND OUT THE ROOF. THEN HE RAN A STRING FROM THE MARK
TO THE EDGE OF THE BED UPON WHICH JEFFREY'S BODY WAS FOUND.

THE TRAJECTORY INDICATED BY THE STRING PROVED TO HIM, DIGMAN SAID,
THAT HIS SON DID NOT KILL HIMSELF.

"HE WOULD'VE HAD TO PRACTICALLY LEAN OVER AND STAND ON HIS HEAD TO
SHOOT HIMSELF." DIGMAN SAID. " AND HE WOULD HAVE FALLEN OVER ON THE
FLOOR, NOT ON THE BED."

IT WAS THEN, THE DIGMANS SAID, THAT THEY DECIDED TO FIND THEIR OWN
EXPERTS TO INVESTIGATE THE ENTIRE CASE.

THEY HIRED A PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR TO INTERVIEW PEOPLE WHOM THE NAVY
AND SHERIFF HAD NOT QUESTIONED. THEY HIRED THREE OF THE COUNTRY'S TOP
FORENSIC PATHOLOGISTS TO REVIEW AUTOPSY RECORDS. THEY PAID AN EXPERT
IN BLOOD SPATTER PATTERNS AND A CRIME SCENE ANALYST TO PORE OVER
AUTOPSY AND DEATH SCENE PHOTOS.

THOSE PHOTOS, COMBINED WITH A SECOND MOCKUP THE DIGMANS SET UP IN THE
ACTUAL BEDROOM WHERE THEIR SON DIED IN TEMECULA, HELPED CONVINCE THEIR
EXPERTS THAT DIGMAN DID NOT DIE THE WAY AUTHORITIES SAID.

"THERE IS MORE HARD EVIDENCE AGAINST A DETERMINATION OF SUICIDE THAN
FOR IT, " PATHOLOGIST CYRIL W. WECHT, A FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE
AMERICAN ACADEMY OF FORENSIC SCIENCES, SAID IN AN INTERVIEW. HE
CHARACTERIZED BOTH INVESTIGATIONS AS "NOT AS COMPLETE OR DETAILED AS
THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN."

WECHT ADDED: "THERE IS A LOT OF GOOD, SOLID EVIDENCE THAT SHOWS IT
WOULD HAVE BEEN EXTREMELY DIFFICULT, IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE, FOR A SUICIDE
TO HAVE OCCURRED IN THE MANNER THAT WAS DESCRIBED" BY AUTHORITIES.

A REPORT BY STEPHAN A. SCHLIEBE, A CRIME SCENE EXPERT AT THE
CALIFORNIA LABORATORY OF FORENSIC SCIENCE, WAS LESS EQUIVOCAL:
"JEFFREY DIGMAN STRUGGLED WITH SOMEONE, WAS EITHER ACCIDENTALLY OR
PURPOSELY SHOT, AND WAS THEN PLACED ON THE BED."

THE DEATH SCENE PHOTOS SHOWED THAT JEFFREY'S THUMBS, WHICH WERE
POINTED UP AT HIS SIDE, WERE BLUE, THAT DIDN'T MAKE SENSE, THE
DIGMAN'S EXPERTS TOLD THEM. THE BLUE COLOR WAS CAUSED BY LIVIDITY, OR
THE SETTLING OF BLOOD, THEY EXPLAINED - BUT ONLY IF THE THUMBS HAD
BEEN POINTED DOWNWARD AND AWAY FROM THE BODY.

ACCORDING TO WECHT, THE LIVIDITY AND POSITION OF THE THUMBS STRONGLY
SUGGESTED THAT SOMEONE REARRANGED JEFFREY'S HANDS AFTER HE DIED.

THE DIGMANS ALSO SAW THAT THE PHOTOS SHOWED BLOOD RUNNING STRAIGHT
DOWN FROM HIS EAR. THEIR EXPERTS CONCLUDED JEFFREY HAD REMAINED
UPRIGHT FOR FIVE TO SEVEN SECONDS AFTER HE WAS SHOT.

BUT BECAUSE SUCH A SEVERE WOUND WOULD HAVE CAUSED HIM TO COLLAPSE
INSTANTLY, THE EXPERTS CONCLUDED THAT SOMEONE EITHER PREVENTED DIGMAN
FROM FALLING OR HELD HIM UPRIGHT WHILE LAYING HIM ON THE BED.

THE PHOTOS ALSO SHOWED A FRESH ABRASION ON DIGMAN'S RIGHT
CHEEK-DISMISSED BY THE RIVERSIDE COUNTY CORONER'S REPORT AS A "SMALL"
INJURY THAT DID NOT SUGGEST FOUL PLAY. AFTER THE BODY WAS EXHUMED, A
NAVY AUTOPSY IN 1990 FOUND PREVIOUSLY UNDOCUMENTED INJURIES TO
DIGMAN'S ELBOW AND FINGER.

EVEN SO, THE NAVY SAID DIGMAND HAD COMMITTED SUICIDE.

THE DIGMAN'S EXPERTS DISAGREED.

"THESE INJURIES INDICATE THAT SOME KIND OF AN ALTERCATION TOOK PLACE
PRIOR TO JEFFREY DIGMAN'S DEATH," SCHLIEBE CONCLUDED.

THE DIGMANS HAD ALSO NOTICED A BLOOD STAIN ON THE SHEET SEVERAL INCHES
ABOVE THEIR SON'S HEAD. THEIR EXPERTS CONCLUDED THAT THE BLOOD WAS NOT
SPATTER FROM THE GUNSHOT BUT HAD BEEN SMEARED THERE BY ANOTHER
SOURCE-POSSIBLY A SECOND PERSON WHO HAD JEFFREY'S BLOOD ON HIS OR HER
BODY.

NONE OF THESE CONTRADICTIONS WAS NOTED IN EITHER INVESTIGATION. IN
FACT, THE AUTOPSY REPORT PREPARED THE DAY JEFFREY DIED-WHEN THE
INVESTIGATION WAS JUST HOURS OLD-CONCLUDED: "NO SIGNS OF FOUL PLAY".

TED L. GUNDERSON, THE FORMER HEAD OF THE FBI OFFICE IN LOS ANGELES,
WAS HIRED BY THE DIGMANS TO REINVESTIGATE THE CASE.

"IT WAS A JOKE-ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS." GUNDERSON SAID OF THE JOINT
CIVILIAN AND NAVY INVESTIGATION.

THE DIGMANS TOOK THEIR ACCUMULATED EVIDENCE TO THE ARMED FORCES
INSTITUTE OF PATHOLOGY IN WASHINGTON, A DEFENSE DEPARTMENT AGENCY. IN
FEBRUARY 1991 - TWO YEARS AFTER JEFFREY DIGMAN DIED-A MEDICAL EXAMINER
AT THE INSTITUTE, RICHARD FROEDE, WROTE THAT "AFTER CAREFUL
EXAMINATION AND MUCH THOUGHT," HE HAD RECLASSIFIED THE DEATH FROM
SUICIDE TO "UNDETERMINED."

EVEN SO, THE SHERIFFS OFFICE AND THE NCIA REFUSED TO CHANGE THEIR
RULINGS. THE DIGMANS CONTINUED TO PRESSURE BOTH AGENCIES WHILE WRITING
LETTERS TO CONGRESSMEN, MILITARY COMMANDERS AND LOCAL OFFICIALS.

LAST YEAR, THE CALIFORNIA STATE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AGREED TO
REINVESTIGATE THE CASE. MICHAEL PRODAN, THE INVESTIGATOR IN CHARGE OF
THE REVIEW, SAID HE HAS STUDIED EXISTING EVIDENCE AND SOUGHT NEW
INFORMATION.

PRODAN DECLINED TO DISCUSS SPECIFICS OF THE CASE, BUT HE SAID HIS
OFFICE WOULD SEND A COPY OF ITS FINAL REPORT TO RIVERSIDE COUNTY
AUTHORITIES."

This is one of my favorite cases. No matter how many times I watch it, I am still intrigued by it.

The biggest thing for me is his roommate who went over to his neighbor's house before he entered the house simply because he wanted to make sure there was a witness was there in case something went wrong. That just didn't make sense to me. He had to have known something.

A thousand posts and now a thousand caps? I didn't have enough energy to read it anyway, so that cinched the decision.:D

A thousand posts and now a thousand caps? I didn't have enough energy to read it anyway, so that cinched the decision.:D

I copied and pasted so obviously I wasn't going to go through and correct the all caps. You are so intimidated by my 1000 posts Awsi.....:p :lol:

Yes I think his roommate must have known if nothing else that Digman had people after him. Why else would a tough Marine ask his elderly neighbor to escort him into the house?

I feel sorry fo rhis parents obviously. I will say, however, that his dad is one interesting fellow (and no just because of rug on his head).


I think the guy looks downright scary when he is trying to do a re-enactment of his son's shooting (yes, I believe Digman was murdered), I do think , though, that he dwells on the left-handed issue a bit much. Just because someone is left-handed does not necessarily mean they will hold a gun in that hand (for example, my father is right-handed but always shoot sleft-handed).

This is one of my favorite cases. No matter how many times I watch it, I am still intrigued by it.

The biggest thing for me is his roommate who went over to his neighbor's house before he entered the house simply because he wanted to make sure there was a witness was there in case something went wrong. That just didn't make sense to me. He had to have known something.

I also found it strange that his roommate, a Marine, didn't want to go into the house alone.

Yes I think his roommate must have known if nothing else that Digman had people after him. Why else would a tough Marine ask his elderly neighbor to escort him into the house?

Exactly. The marine knew something was amiss. Jeffrey by all accounts was strictly to the book on things. It would be weird to see him miss his plane.

This doesn't mean the marine is guilty - far from it - I think if anyone would know secret stuff about the marines and who would be after him it would have been his roomate.

This is clearly a homicide. Another honest man dying from an apparent dishonest man

Exactly. The marine knew something was amiss. Jeffrey by all accounts was strictly to the book on things. It would be weird to see him miss his plane.

This doesn't mean the marine is guilty - far from it - I think if anyone would know secret stuff about the marines and who would be after him it would have been his roomate.

This is clearly a homicide. Another honest man dying from an apparent dishonest man

Yeah I always felt it was very strange too. The segment said that Jeffrey should have caught his plane 15 mins earlier, and that the roommate was alarmed that his car was in the driveway. But, planes are delayed all the time, and merely seeing his car and a light on upstairs shouldn't have caused him to be scared to go in the house?

It just seems that he might know more than he is telling, like maybe he was suspecting that Jeff would kill himself, or suspecting that there were people out to get him. I don't know.

I do, however, feel that this most likely was a suicide. I feel for the parents, as they don't want to accept the fact that their son killed himself, but the evidence they came up with is not very strong: Used left hand to shoot even though he is right handed (as was stated above, that doesn't mean anything). Also, the whole case rests on the bullet trajectory, but remember, he was drunk at the time, and as long as he was leaning down with his elbow on his knee, the bullet would follow such a path. Finally, they found small abrasions on his check and his elbow.. Hell, at any given time, I probably have a few abrasions on myself.

I have always thought that he was murdered...I really don't think there is any way that this is suicide. However, I do feel that it was the perfect opportunity for someone to murder him and set it up as a suicide, as he had just been stationed somewhere that he did not want to go...which may make people think he was despondent and committed suicide.

The thing I found funny is that they kept saying his "San Diego" home, etc... So I had always tried to find information on where his house was to see if I could find more info. Turns out, as posted above, he lived in Temecula, which is actually about 45 mins from San Diego, and more in between LA/SD. Always found that interesting and had wondered why they had made it that way in the story.

I have always thought that he was murdered...I really don't think there is any way that this is suicide. However, I do feel that it was the perfect opportunity for someone to murder him and set it up as a suicide, as he had just been stationed somewhere that he did not want to go...which may make people think he was despondent and committed suicide.

The thing I found funny is that they kept saying his "San Diego" home, etc... So I had always tried to find information on where his house was to see if I could find more info. Turns out, as posted above, he lived in Temecula, which is actually about 45 mins from San Diego, and more in between LA/SD. Always found that interesting and had wondered why they had made it that way in the story.

Im just curious why you think so strongly that he killed himself? Am I missing something? I'm not finding the evidence presented that he committed suicide very strong.

It just seems that he might know more than he is telling, like maybe he was suspecting that Jeff would kill himself, or suspecting that there were people out to get him. I don't know.



I didn't find it all too weird. If Jeff was unpopular with the crooked members of the Marines that were into drugs then I am sure he mentioned that to his roomate that someone could be after him. Plus his roomate was in the Marines too, no doubt about it these guys have a better sense of awareness compared to you or me. They've seen some ugliness in mankind and like a cop their first reaction is to plan for the worst hope for the best.

Yes, I never understood why they said San Diego home either. Digman as everyone knows lived in Temecula, California which is actually about 50 miles north of downtown San Diego. However it is only a stone's throw from Camp Pendelton where Digman was stationed before he was transferred to San Juan, Puerto Rico. The base Digman was assigned to in Puerto Rico was shut down several years ago and converted into an airport.

However San Diego was not Digman's home town, in fact, Digman's parents live or lived in Cypress, California and Digman grew up there. Cypress, California is actually in Orange County, California and Los Angeles County borders it to the west. So Cypress is actually closer to Los Angeles by far than San Diego. Cypress is about 25 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles and roughly 100 or so miles north of downtown San Diego.

Plus they made it seem like his parents lived 'nearby' when in fact Cypress is about 40, 45 miles west, northwest of Temecula. Temecula itself is in Riverside County, not San Diego County. That is why even watching the segment when they made it sound like he lived in San Diego, yet the investigator was from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, so I knew UM screwed up on the details. Temecula is close to Digman's former base Camp Pendelton, it is roughly 10 to 15 miles northeast of the base.

I for one always believed Digman was murdered too. It seems whenever the military is involved they are always very content to write suspicious deaths off as suicide. However in this case, while there were things that on the surface might make it look like suicide, there is just as much that argues this is a murder. The big things for me that pointed to murder, were the physical evidence. The blood going down in a perfect straight down angle from his ear. If he had shot himself he would have fallen right back and the blood would not have been like that. Plus, the bullet trajectory, Digman would have had to practically be leaning over off the bed to fire the gun in the way it was fired and have the bullet wind up where it was found. I mean this is not a magic bullet to where he can straight back but yet the bullet winds up in a completely different location than it should have been found in based on the position his body was found in.

I mean I have never heard a credible explanation from law enforcement about how the bullet ended up where it ended up yet Digman is flat on his back, with his legs sticking straight out and evenly out and his feet flat on the floor and his farm flat and lying at his sides. It just seems like he was posed that way. I mean the way where that bullet, where it ended up, if Digman shot himself, then Digman should have fallen forward and to the floor, not fallen straight back and had his feet, legs and arms be in perfect position.

It was well known amongst Jeff Digman's friends, family, acquaintances, basically anyone and everyone that knew him, knew that he was less than happy about his transfer to Puerto Rico. It seems he was not expecting that transfer and I have always found it curious how he was abruptly transferred from Camp Pendelton to about as far away as you can get from California and remain in the United States, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Now at the time Digman died, 1989, the following Marine Corps bases were open in this country. Sorry for being a bit tedious but I have always wondered myself about that transfer. Marine Corps Air Station El Toro in Irvine, California which was closed in 1999. Marine Corps Air Station Tustin in Tustin, California which was also closed in 1999. Marine Corps Barracks Adak in Adak, Alaska which was closed in 2004. Also the Marine Corps Station in San Juan, Puerto Rico which was closed in 2005.

Now the bases that were open then and that are open now. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, California. Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, California. Marine Corps Logistics Base in Barstow, California. Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, California. Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, California. Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany, Georgia. Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kane ohe Bay, Hawaii. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejune in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in Beaufort, South Carolina. Marine Corps Base Quantico in Quantico, Virginia. Henderson Hall in Arlington, Virginia. Marine Barracks, Washington D.C. in Washington D.C. Camp H.M. Smith in Aiea, Hawaii. Camp Allen in Norfolk, Virginia.

But to me, I think whoever killed Digman knew him, knew he would be back, and decided to finish him off. Digman was a well known heavy drinker so while the BAC in his blood .24 which today would be 3 times above the legal limit for driving but for someone that drink heavily on a routine basis like Digman, while he would certainly be drunk, he would not seem as drunk as he really was due to the fact he had tolerance to a degree.

But my guess, he was watching the Super Bowl, hanging out at home, probably a bit depressed, not exactly anxious to go back to a place he did not want to go to in the first place and was hitting the sauce pretty good. But I just do not think he would be calling people including calling a friend of his 50 minutes before the presumed time of death and tell her that he was 'waiting for a ride to the airport' and then out of the blue go boy, you know, I am kind of bored, this is taking a while, got nothing else to do, better commit suicide. I mean that is kind of absurd to think that.

Another question is, what airport was Digman flying out of to go back to San Juan? I would presume the San Diego International Airport. Now San Diego International Airport is right in downtown San Diego so Digman or whoever was giving him a ride would have to drive about 50 miles to get there. The John Wayne International Airport in Santa Ana which is about 30 miles west of Temecula. However my guess he flew into and out of San Diego Airport as that has much more traffic and flies to more places. I am sure he did not fly out of Los Angeles International Airport as that is about 80 miles from Temecula.

But yeah, bottom line, the investigation was not handled very well. I mean Digman died off base. So why was the NCIS even investigating this? It seems that once the NCIS got involved suddenly all the civilian authorities would believe was that it was suicide even though there was not really any credible evidence to support that. Digman was unhappy about the transfer but it seems he was adjusting to Puerto Rico, he had a girlfriend he enjoyed and was adjusting to Puerto Rico. I just think the transfer caught him off guard and that he felt it was retaliation for him doing his job properly when he was at Camp Pendelton.

But yeah I did find it strange how a Major in the Marine Corps, the guy that was Digman's house mate would be so concerned when he had no reason to believe that Digman was even dead let alone hurt yet when he gets home he goes and gets an elderly neighbor to go into the house with him? I mean seeing Digman's car in the drive way with the garage door up and a light on upstairs is not cause for most people to believe something is amiss. So while I do not believe the Major killed Jeff Digman I do think he knows more than he is telling.

But basically, it seems the NCIS and the Riverside County Sheriff's Department did what I would say was at best an incomplete investigation. I am not sure if the RCSO just went along with what the NCIS wanted or what? It sounds like the coroner who did the autopsy was not a civilian coroner like it would have been for any one else that died in Riverside County but the Navy insisted on doing the autopsy. There were many things they missed in the first autopsy and they labeled it suicide without any real evidence to support that conclusion other than pure conjecture. Why was an autopsy not done by the civilian coroner in Riverside County? After all, Digman died in a house off the base, he did not die on base so why was the military doing the autopsy?

It just seems from the get go that the NCIS was hell bent on making this suicide. I have seen the military do this in other cases, Chad Lankford, Billy Ray Hargrove and Mike Carmichael, Ralph Seigler to name a few. But like I said, the NCIS seemed hell bent on making this a suicide and that neither they nor the Riverside County Sheriff's Department (that detective's toupee was almost as bad as Digman's fathers) never considered this anything other than suicide. Thus, because they developed tunnel vision and never really investigated, the opportunity to investigate possible suspects ceased.

I watched this again last night and while I originally believed that Digmin was murdered, I don't see too much that is inconsistent with suicide. The most telling evidence that it was suicide was the presence of gun shot residue on Digmin's hands which indicated he had fired a weapon. Also, it isn't mentioned whether the gun found belonged to Digmin but I think we can safely assume it did because had the gun's origins been unknown, surely it would have been mentioned as further evidence of murder.

Although Digmin was left handed, it was briefly mentioned that GSR was discovered on both his hands, so he could have used his right hand, or used both hands to inflict the wound. I also fail to see how he automatically would have had to end up on the floor. Is it possible that the recoil and force of the bullet entering his skull could have knocked him to his left and back on to the bed?

The only remaining troubling aspects of this case are the missing safe and the missing diary pages. The family assumes this had something to do with Digmin's position at the time which involved drug testing other soldiers. However, there is no way to say when the safe and diary pages went missing. Perhaps they were stolen by some criminal element who became aware of Digmin's death and sought to do away with evidence that might pertain to his drug testing. Perhaps Digmin tore the pages out of the diary himself for an unknown reason, and this went unnoticed by his girlfriend. It didn't appear she actually read or closely examined the diary (at least based on the re-enactment).

Finally, one of the family's "experts" was the late retired FBI agent Ted Gunderson. This guy has quite an interesting reputation. He is known for his investigations into government coverups and has made all sorts of accusations involving Satanic cult involvement in many levels of of the US government, child sex trafficking involving people in Washington, etc. Some of his beliefs are pretty "out there" to be kind.

I'll have to rewatch this one, but IIRC there was never really a clear cut motive given as to why anyone would want Jeffrey dead. And didn't his girlfriend say he had became despondent shortly before his death? And wasn't his roommate away at the time of his death? I think he waited for his roommate to be away from the house, when he knew he would be alone, so he could kill himself.

I'll have to rewatch this one, but IIRC there was never really a clear cut motive given as to why anyone would want Jeffrey dead. And didn't his girlfriend say he had became despondent shortly before his death? And wasn't his roommate away at the time of his death? I think he waited for his roommate to be away from the house, when he knew he would be alone, so he could kill himself.

Although I can't remember his exact rank, he held some position where he oversaw drug testing of other soldiers. His parents implied that several soldiers were testing positive for various drugs yet weren't being disciplined despite Digmin's reports to their superiors. Supposedly Digmin was holding records pertaining to these drug tests, but the records disappeared after his death - presumably they were in his safe which turned up missing.

You bring up a couple good points I forgot to mention in my post. It was mentioned, albeit briefly, that Digmin was dissatisfied with his recent transfer to Puerto Rico. In fact, on the night he died he was supposed to catch a flight back.

Moreover, Digmin profiles out as a very straight laced, "by the book", serious, tightly wound individual based on some of the comments made by those family and friends interviewed by UM.

It's also worth mentioning he had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit.

I could almost picture a scenario where Digmin, perhaps despondent over his reports of drug use not being taken seriously, and perhaps more so his impending trip back to Puerto Rico in just a few hours, decides to knock back a few beers and end it all.

Further, it appears the bullet trajectory is more or less consistent if he sits on the bed and fires the shot with his right hand with the gun pointed at a slightly upward angle. I know Digmin was left handed, but who knows, he could be ambidextrous or found it more comfortable to sit on the bed in that position and squeeze off. The GSR confirms this.

No evidence of a struggle, break in, or anyone else being in the house at the time, coupled with a flimsy motive, a hired "expert" with an obvious conspiracy seeking agenda and I think we're looking at a suicide.

I forgot about his BAC level on the night he died. If there were no signs of a struggle, how did his killers force him to drunk that much alcohol and not leave any trace evidence behind? And I also think it's entirely possible that even if his death was a suicide, the army would want to cover up evidence that he attempted to oust/discipline the officers testing positive for drugs.

Although I can't remember his exact rank, he held some position where he oversaw drug testing of other soldiers. His parents implied that several soldiers were testing positive for various drugs yet weren't being disciplined despite Digmin's reports to their superiors. Supposedly Digmin was holding records pertaining to these drug tests, but the records disappeared after his death - presumably they were in his safe which turned up missing.

You bring up a couple good points I forgot to mention in my post. It was mentioned, albeit briefly, that Digmin was dissatisfied with his recent transfer to Puerto Rico. In fact, on the night he died he was supposed to catch a flight back.

Moreover, Digmin profiles out as a very straight laced, "by the book", serious, tightly wound individual based on some of the comments made by those family and friends interviewed by UM.

It's also worth mentioning he had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit.

I could almost picture a scenario where Digmin, perhaps despondent over his reports of drug use not being taken seriously, and perhaps more so his impending trip back to Puerto Rico in just a few hours, decides to knock back a few beers and end it all.

Further, it appears the bullet trajectory is more or less consistent if he sits on the bed and fires the shot with his right hand with the gun pointed at a slightly upward angle. I know Digmin was left handed, but who knows, he could be ambidextrous or found it more comfortable to sit on the bed in that position and squeeze off. The GSR confirms this.

No evidence of a struggle, break in, or anyone else being in the house at the time, coupled with a flimsy motive, a hired "expert" with an obvious conspiracy seeking agenda and I think we're looking at a suicide.

I'm not saying its impossible that Digman committed suicide, but I've always thought the no sign of a struggle argument gets way to much merit when you want to argue writing something off as suicide.

If someone is asleep, intoxicated, or taken by surprise when they are attacked, there is not going to be signs of a struggle. Most notably if they are killed by someone they know and trust to get close enough to them.

Even if they aren't, someone who is attacked by a man with a gun can be taken out quickly, there doesn't neccessarily have to be a bunch of chairs knocked over, things strew all over..........

Typically, in well done execution style murders, there is no struggle. Professional killers know how to do this.

And even if Jeffery Digman was dissapointed with getting no results about turning officers in who were into drug usage, you really think thats enough to drive someone to suicide? I seriously doubt it.

When people kill themselves, the pimary reasons are the loss of a spouse or signifigant other, money problems they can't seem to get out of, or they are in serious trouble with the law and facing a great deal of prison time. So far as I know none of these things applied to Jeffery Digman.

To many times I've seen potential murders written off as suicide and the reasons they come up for it are rather mundane. Having been suicidal myself in the past I know the reasons for it, Jeffery seemed to have a good deal going for him.

Couple that with the definite motives for murder, missing papers in the safe, and potential military suspects who would without a doubt know how to kill someone without a struggle...........

I think its extremely naive to write this off as suicide. And nothing what I consider to be a good motive for suicide either on top of that.

I'm not saying its impossible that Digman committed suicide, but I've always thought the no sign of a struggle argument gets way to much merit when you want to argue writing something off as suicide.

If someone is asleep, intoxicated, or taken by surprise when they are attacked, there is not going to be signs of a struggle. Most notably if they are killed by someone they know and trust to get close enough to them.

Even if they aren't, someone who is attacked by a man with a gun can be taken out quickly, there doesn't neccessarily have to be a bunch of chairs knocked over, things strew all over..........

Typically, in well done execution style murders, there is no struggle. Professional killers know how to do this.

And even if Jeffery Digman was dissapointed with getting no results about turning officers in who were into drug usage, you really think thats enough to drive someone to suicide? I seriously doubt it.

When people kill themselves, the pimary reasons are the loss of a spouse or signifigant other, money problems they can't seem to get out of, or they are in serious trouble with the law and facing a great deal of prison time. So far as I know none of these things applied to Jeffery Digman.

To many times I've seen potential murders written off as suicide and the reasons they come up for it are rather mundane. Having been suicidal myself in the past I know the reasons for it, Jeffery seemed to have a good deal going for him.

Couple that with the definite motives for murder, missing papers in the safe, and potential military suspects who would without a doubt know how to kill someone without a struggle...........

I think its extremely naive to write this off as suicide. And nothing what I consider to be a good motive for suicide either on top of that.

Suicide is the ultimate irrational act. Trying to apply a rational thought process to it is difficult, if not impossible. It is also a very personal decision. A suicidal person may have motivations that seem ridiculous to outsiders. Moreover, such motivations are probably unspoken, and even if they were vocalized, they would likely seem miniscule in the context of the act of suicide. Human life is sacred and most us value self preservation so much that it is difficult to sit here and comprehend what it would really take for a person to do themselves in and actually follow through. I can't think of a valid reason myself aside from perhaps a terminal, painful disease.

Herein lies the the problem with so many of these "was it murder or suicide" type segments on UM. The family will swear up and down that their loved one wouldn't kill him/herself. Unfortunately, because the act is so irrational and personal, whose to say anyone isn't capable of committing suicide at any given moment?

Think of celebrities who have millions of dollars, fame, fortune, adoration and a way of life we can only dream of. They should be happy, right? Yet, there are celebrities who have committed suicide for one reason or another.

Ultimately, we can't say what was or was not going through Digmin's mind that night. However, the findings of two investigating agencies, two autopsies and the otherwise unexplainable, uncontested presence of the GSR strongly point toward suicide.

I think TheCars1986 brought up a good point too. If in fact the military did find evidence of Digmin's probing of drug abuse on the base, they may have wanted to cover it up. I don't see why the two events - the suicide and coverup of drug abuse - have to be mutually exclusive.

I think its extremely naive to write this off as suicide. And nothing what I consider to be a good motive for suicide either on top of that.

There could have been several things going on in Jeffrey's personal life that we know nothing about that drove him to suicide. If he was drinking he's already not in the right frame of mind to begin with, why is it so strange that this is when he decided to kill himself?

Just re-watched the segment, so I'll share my two cents on the case.

First, let's take a look at the murder scenario. Allegedly, Digman was in charge of drug testing soldiers and certain soliders were failing the drug tests and not being disciplined. And it's assumed that Digman was going to "blow the whistle" on the lack of discipline. This was presented as a possible motive for his murder. But I find that motive to be extremely thin. For one, Digman never expressed this alleged frustration to his mother when she found the papers in his safe. The only thing he told her was that he was saving them so he could cover himself in case he was accused of not doing his job. In other words, by keeping these papers in his safe, Digman was not concerned with the lack of discipline on those failing the drug tests, it was more of a security measure that if something did in fact "hit the fan", he'd have those tests to fall back on and say something like, "See I've been doing my job all along". Also, the segment states that Jeffrey was no longer in charge of the drug testing unit. He was transferred to Puerto Rico, effectively ending his tenure with the unit. And this is what his friends said he was upset about the most, the transfer and, in a way, demotion. Not some massive cover up to protect soldiers using drugs. Next, there were only 3-5 minor "contusions" found on Jeffrey's body. Had Jeffrey been the target for murder, why were there no more serious injuries found? And why were there no signs of a struggle? And how lucky is it that the person/s who wanted Jeffrey dead just so happened to murder him when he was drinking heavily all day and most vunerable (with a .24 BAC!)? The "contusions" could have came from anything from a fall to him stumbling around from being wasted.

Now I do find one aspect of this case extremely odd, and it does lend some credence to the murder/conspiracy theory. When Digman's roommate returned home that night, he said it was 15 minutes after Digman's flight was supposed to leave. The roommate and his girlfriend saw Digman's car parked in the driveway, the garage door was open, and the lights were on in the house. Instead of going in and checking things out with his girlfriend, the roommate went and got a neighbor to check the house with him. Am I the only one who finds this odd? Why would the roommate be that alarmed by seeing his car in the driveway and the lights on? Granted, if the door was wide open or a window was broke, I could see getting help from a neighbor. But the only thing amiss was that Digman's car was still there when he was supposed to be on a flight. Why was his roommate's first reaction to seek out help? Wouldn't it make more sense to assume that Digman had simply fallen asleep or was running late? In a way, this lends credence to the murder theory because if his roommate (also in the army) knew he was going to be murdered that night it would explain why he felt the need to get a neighbor to check the house with him. The roommate would also have an alibi (being out with his girlfriend for the evening), and would further be corraborated by getting the neighbor to help check the house. In fact, the neighbor may have been the one who "discovered" Digman's body, which is usually what those involved in a murder want...someone else to discover the body. The whole murder theory does raise some interesting points (like the roommate's strange reaction to the fact that Digman was still home). But maybe the roommate scared easily, or didn't feel comfortable checking the house alone. Who knows? It could also be that Jeffrey's roommate knew how "by the book" he was and seeing his car still in the driveway instantly set off a fear that something serious had to be wrong. I think that's just as likely.

Now let's take a look at the suicide theory. There was not one but two separate investigations and autopsies that both concluded suicide. Even the second autopsy reported two more contusions that were not found in the first autopsy. Yet they both agreed that his death was a suicide. I do not buy into the "mock up" crime scene, because there is no way that it was exactly the same way Jeffrey's bedroom was set up. The bullet trajectory is another moot point, IMHO, because haven't there been times when someone shot themselves or were shot, and the bullet careened off of a piece of bone traveling in the complete opposite direction? Bullet trajectories are unpredictable, and there is no one way that Jeffrey's body had to be positioned when he shot himself. The blood found trickling down the side of his face could have simply been the result of blood seeping out of the wound. The blood stain found above Jeffrey's head could have been the result of splatter after the initial shot. None of us know what the crime scene looked like (outside of the picture shown on UM), but several trained investigators were there and they all came to the conclusion of suicide. We have to remember that it was not only the army who investigated this case, but it was also the Riverside County Sheriff's Dept. Why would they (an independent, separate entity) be inclined to cover up a murder involving the army?

And what about the possibility of an accident? He was extremely intoxicated at the time of his death, so we can't rule out the possibility that he was playing around with a gun when it fired, killing him. I find that theory unlikely however. I think the suicide is pretty cut and dried. Both investigative agencies, and both autposies concluded his death was the result of a suicide. I think his parents did raise some interesting points, while they were also grasping at straws (the missing safe, missing book, etc.) because they didn't want to accept that he took his own life. I honestly think Jeffrey Digman was upset over something. Perhaps it was over his transfer or the fact that he wasn't in charge of the drug testing unit, or maybe the army was in fact not disciplining soliders and the transfer to Puerto Rico was the icing on the cake. Or it simply could have been something personal going on inside Jeffrey that we'll never know. But I think the fact that his BAC was so high is a good indicator that he was not in the right frame of mind and/or working up the courage to kill himself. The evidence for murder just isn't there. And unless there is new evidence to come forward to state the contrary, Jeffrey Digman's death is officially a suicide.

Just re-watched the segment, so I'll share my two cents on the case. Now I do find one aspect of this case extremely odd, and it does lend some credence to the murder/conspiracy theory. When Digman's roommate returned home that night, he said it was 15 minutes after Digman's flight was supposed to leave. The roommate and his girlfriend saw Digman's car parked in the driveway, the garage door was open, and the lights were on in the house. Instead of going in and checking things out with his girlfriend, the roommate went and got a neighbor to check the house with him. Am I the only one who finds this odd? Why would the roommate be that alarmed by seeing his car in the driveway and the lights on? Granted, if the door was wide open or a window was broke, I could see getting help from a neighbor. But the only thing amiss was that Digman's car was still there when he was supposed to be on a flight. Why was his roommate's first reaction to seek out help? Wouldn't it make more sense to assume that Digman had simply fallen asleep or was running late? In a way, this lends credence to the murder theory because if his roommate (also in the army) knew he was going to be murdered that night it would explain why he felt the need to get a neighbor to check the house with him. The roommate would also have an alibi (being out with his girlfriend for the evening), and would further be corraborated by getting the neighbor to help check the house. In fact, the neighbor may have been the one who "discovered" Digman's body, which is usually what those involved in a murder want...someone else to discover the body. The whole murder theory does raise some interesting points (like the roommate's strange reaction to the fact that Digman was still home). But maybe the roommate scared easily, or didn't feel comfortable checking the house alone. Who knows? It could also be that Jeffrey's roommate knew how "by the book" he was and seeing his car still in the driveway instantly set off a fear that something serious had to be wrong. I think that's just as likely.

BINGO! We have a winner!

I said this exact same thing in a different thread on this case. I always thought that was very, very odd. If my roommate's car was there and it looked like he might be home after he was supposed to be gone, I would think either his flight cancelled, he got sick, something bad happened to a family member so he couldn't go, etc. The LAST thing I would think is "Ooh... He might have met with foul play."

So a U.S. Marine went to get a neighbor rather then just check it out? What was there to fear? Or did he want a witness to the crime scene. If that is really how it played out, there is something wrong there. Either the roommate was in on it or had a strong reason to believe there might be dangerous people in the house.

There is something wrong witht that whole scene.

Add me to the group of people suspicious about the roomie's actions that day.

The only way I could probably see his behavior as sort of understandable would be if he thought Digman was depressed and suspected he might do something like that, but wasn't really certain enough to warrant any kind of intervention. Otherwise, what reason could he have for reacting so strongly to the guy being 15 minutes for his plane.

Suicide is the ultimate irrational act. Trying to apply a rational thought process to it is difficult, if not impossible. It is also a very personal decision. A suicidal person may have motivations that seem ridiculous to outsiders. Moreover, such motivations are probably unspoken, and even if they were vocalized, they would likely seem miniscule in the context of the act of suicide. Human life is sacred and most us value self preservation so much that it is difficult to sit here and comprehend what it would really take for a person to do themselves in and actually follow through. I can't think of a valid reason myself aside from perhaps a terminal, painful disease.

Herein lies the the problem with so many of these "was it murder or suicide" type segments on UM. The family will swear up and down that their loved one wouldn't kill him/herself. Unfortunately, because the act is so irrational and personal, whose to say anyone isn't capable of committing suicide at any given moment?

Think of celebrities who have millions of dollars, fame, fortune, adoration and a way of life we can only dream of. They should be happy, right? Yet, there are celebrities who have committed suicide for one reason or another.

Ultimately, we can't say what was or was not going through Digmin's mind that night. However, the findings of two investigating agencies, two autopsies and the otherwise unexplainable, uncontested presence of the GSR strongly point toward suicide.

I think TheCars1986 brought up a good point too. If in fact the military did find evidence of Digmin's probing of drug abuse on the base, they may have wanted to cover it up. I don't see why the two events - the suicide and coverup of drug abuse - have to be mutually exclusive.

well then, consider your self blessed, because I know a number of people who have contemplated suicide, and they were not irrational or bad people at all, they simply were in a lot of emotional pain and wound up with a dislike of life for one reason or another.

In many ways, the world is an ugly nasty place. It has a lot of beauty in it true, but it also has a great deal of nastiness. Its very easy to become discouraged to the point where you don't want to deal with it any longer. And its usually for the reasons that I gave earlier. Another reason I didn't mention was that many teams people commit suicide because of guilt over something they have done.

What you seem to be suggesting is that its common for people to commit suicide for reasons others regard as frivelous. But it really isn't, typically it is for the reasons that I gave: money issues, facing prison time, overwhelming guilt, or loss of loved ones.

Its not all that common for people to commit suicide for reasons like little green men they are seeing through hallucinations are telling them to. In my mind, thats not much more far fetched than Jeffery Digman killing himself over the lack of results of repoting drug addict servicemen. I just don't see that as a reason to kill yourself. I could be wrong but I just don't see it.

Also, the fact that he was drunk doesn't prove anything either. A lot of people get trashed and don't kill themselves. In fact, being intoxicated would have made him less coordinated to pull it off.

Like I said, I think its extremely naive to write this off as suicide.

well then, consider your self blessed, because I know a number of people who have contemplated suicide, and they were not irrational or bad people at all, they simply were in a lot of emotional pain and wound up with a dislike of life for one reason or another.

Sure, many people contemplate suicide. I've known people who have contemplated it and they were not "irrational", "bad" people. They were down, in emotional pain or had other problems. In the end, they didn't go through with it.


In many ways, the world is an ugly nasty place. It has a lot of beauty in it true, but it also has a great deal of nastiness. Its very easy to become discouraged to the point where you don't want to deal with it any longer. And its usually for the reasons that I gave earlier. Another reason I didn't mention was that many teams people commit suicide because of guilt over something they have done.

What you seem to be suggesting is that its common for people to commit suicide for reasons others regard as frivelous. But it really isn't, typically it is for the reasons that I gave: money issues, facing prison time, overwhelming guilt, or loss of loved ones.

I think there was a misunderstanding. I never meant to imply that people commit suicide for frivolous reasons. A person committing suicide does so for reasons that make sense to them. However, those reasons aren't always apparent to an outsider and may not make sense to an outsider's interpretation.

While the examples you cite are all reasons a person might end their life, I think the list could be infinite.

Just because the circumstances of Digmin's life don't fit one of the reasons you cite doesn't mean he wasn't suicidal.

We don't know what was going through his mind that night. If he did kill himself, it could be for a reason he never disclosed to anyone.

All I'm saying is that we shouldn't assume Digmin was murdered just because the motive for suicide isn't obvious.

I suggested a couple reasons that he might have been despondent - his reports not being taken seriously, his impending return to Puerto Rico. These are facts brought out in the segment.

Neither are the sole reason he killed himself, I'm sure. As an outsider, we can only throw out some possible guesses.

Its not all that common for people to commit suicide for reasons like little green men they are seeing through hallucinations are telling them to. In my mind, thats not much more far fetched than Jeffery Digman killing himself over the lack of results of repoting drug addict servicemen. I just don't see that as a reason to kill yourself. I could be wrong but I just don't see it.

I didn't mean to imply Digmin had voices in his head, was seeing little green men, etc. Again, the segment mentioned a couple possible things that he may have been despondent about.

Those reasons may seem far fetched to us outsiders, but I would never assume I know how someone else feels, including Jeffrey Digmin.

I think if Digmin did the deed, it was for a reason known only to himself, those issues mentioned in the segment may or may not have been factors.

Why do I think he did the deed himself? The physical evidence suggests that was the case.

So a U.S. Marine went to get a neighbor rather then just check it out? What was there to fear? Or did he want a witness to the crime scene. If that is really how it played out, there is something wrong there. Either the roommate was in on it or had a strong reason to believe there might be dangerous people in the house.

There is something wrong witht that whole scene.

I don't know. The roommate had his girlfriend with him, who could have easily established his alibi. The girlfriend also could have checked the house with him, being the one making the discovery.

The only way I could probably see his behavior as sort of understandable would be if he thought Digman was depressed and suspected he might do something like that, but wasn't really certain enough to warrant any kind of intervention. Otherwise, what reason could he have for reacting so strongly to the guy being 15 minutes for his plane.

This is a good point. If the roommate knew Digman was acting weird, or depressed this would certainly warrant his reaction when he arrived home. I do think it's just as likely that maybe the roommate got "freaked out" by seeing Digman's car still there, with the lights on in the house. Since Digman was described as a straight laced, quiet, by-the-book, kind of guy, I figure he was the type that was always on time, never swayed from his usual routine, etc. So this may have been why the roommate figured something had to be wrong because there would have been no other reason as to why Digman would have missed his flight.

Like I said, I think its extremely naive to write this off as suicide.

I wouldn't say anyone is "writing this off" as a suicide. Here's what we know: Digman was found dead in his room, his death the result of a gunshot wound to his head, and he had gunshot residue on both of his hands. There was no evidence that anyone was in that house other than Digman when the shot was fired. The evidence for murder just isn't there.

As a matter of fact, I think it's contradictory in saying that Digman wouldn't have killed himself over petty issues such as a transfer he didn't like, or lack of discipline in the drug testing unit. Because these are the same reasons his parents gave as to why he was murdered. So it's likely that someone else would kill Digman over this, but not Digman himself? It just doesn't make sense.

Some YT posters made similar comments about the room mate 's seemingly unusual decision to summon help upon returning home. For some reason, I never figured it was that big of a factor - and yes, there was a time when I first saw the segment that I believed Digmin was murdered, but the room mate's behavior still didn't affect my thinking. Regardless, I just figured that Digmin was a "by the book" type of guy (as alluded to in the segment) and his being home at a time when his flight should have already departed was an alarm signal.

I'm not saying its impossible that Digman committed suicide, but I've always thought the no sign of a struggle argument gets way to much merit when you want to argue writing something off as suicide.

If someone is asleep, intoxicated, or taken by surprise when they are attacked, there is not going to be signs of a struggle. Most notably if they are killed by someone they know and trust to get close enough to them.

Even if they aren't, someone who is attacked by a man with a gun can be taken out quickly, there doesn't neccessarily have to be a bunch of chairs knocked over, things strew all over..........

Typically, in well done execution style murders, there is no struggle. Professional killers know how to do this.

And even if Jeffery Digman was dissapointed with getting no results about turning officers in who were into drug usage, you really think thats enough to drive someone to suicide? I seriously doubt it.

When people kill themselves, the pimary reasons are the loss of a spouse or signifigant other, money problems they can't seem to get out of, or they are in serious trouble with the law and facing a great deal of prison time. So far as I know none of these things applied to Jeffery Digman.

To many times I've seen potential murders written off as suicide and the reasons they come up for it are rather mundane. Having been suicidal myself in the past I know the reasons for it, Jeffery seemed to have a good deal going for him.

Couple that with the definite motives for murder, missing papers in the safe, and potential military suspects who would without a doubt know how to kill someone without a struggle...........

I think its extremely naive to write this off as suicide. And nothing what I consider to be a good motive for suicide either on top of that.

Really 'on the fence' with regard to this one.

I don't see anything here that would be so terrible as to drive a man to suicide - if being a marine was his childhood fantasy, perhaps realising that the reality of the organisation was somewhat different to what he expected would be a bit of a blow. It also begs the question as to why anyone would be drug tested if nothing is done in the event of a positive result?

At the same time, for Digman to be murdered and the Marines cover it up, then we're into 'Code Red' territory and given his previous career that would seem at best to be unlikely.

Very possible that the segment may not have touched on the real spark for either murder or suicide...

Some YT posters made similar comments about the room mate 's seemingly unusual decision to summon help upon returning home. For some reason, I never figured it was that big of a factor - and yes, there was a time when I first saw the segment that I believed Digmin was murdered, but the room mate's behavior still didn't affect my thinking. Regardless, I just figured that Digmin was a "by the book" type of guy (as alluded to in the segment) and his being home at a time when his flight should have already departed was an alarm signal.

If the roommate had told the neighbor to call the cops, that would have made more sense to me. If he was that nervous or freaked out, so be it. But he was a Marine and he asked an older neighbor (at least in the story) for help? That seems messed up. It's like he wanted a witness more than back-up.

It's not like the car was running and the door was hanging open or there was a trail of blood. His car was home... Okay. Let's suppose the roommate feared intruder(s) were in the house. What were he and the unarmed neighbor going to do if they came upon an armed burgalar? Again, if you have a reason to think something is really wrong, why not call the cops?

Some of us may be reading into this part too much, but it just seems illogical for the roommate to act as he did based on that scene.

It makes me wonder if the roommate had a reason to either suspect foul play or suspect his roommate was suicidal.

It makes me wonder if the roommate had a reason to either suspect foul play or suspect his roommate was suicidal.

I would imagine he may have suspected he was suicidal. Why else would he fear foul play after simply seeing his car home and the lights on?

I was just reading a book called "Tales from the Morgue" by Dr. Cyril Wecht and was surprised that there was a chapter about the death of Jeffrey Digmin. I never realized that Wecht participated in the second autopsy conducted on Digmin after his body was exhumed. The book also has some pictures of the crime scene and Jeffrey's father demonstrating the bullet trajectory. It's an interesting read and mentions some details that weren't included on UM such as the fact that Digmin had recently watched "Full Metal Jacket" and had been disturbed by the scene where a soldier commits suicide while in bootcamp. Also, Digmin had talked with a neighbor about the fact that he was depressed and he mentioned suicide. The book also mentions that Jeffrey had bought a six pack of beer (on the day he died?) and five empty beer cans were found at the crime scene. One can was never recovered and the police even checked the trash yet were unable to find it.

Here is the book in case any one is interested:
http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Morgue-Forensic-Including-Peterson/dp/159102353X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326397896&sr=8-1

Incidentally, there is also a chapter on the suspicious airline crash at Gander, Newfoundland that was also featured on UM.

I was just reading a book called "Tales from the Morgue" by Dr. Cyril Wecht and was surprised that there was a chapter about the death of Jeffrey Digmin. I never realized that Wecht participated in the second autopsy conducted on Digmin after his body was exhumed. The book also has some pictures of the crime scene and Jeffrey's father demonstrating the bullet trajectory. It's an interesting read and mentions some details that weren't included on UM such as the fact that Digmin had recently watched "Full Metal Jacket" and had been disturbed by the scene where a soldier commits suicide while in bootcamp. Also, Digmin had talked with a neighbor about the fact that he was depressed and he mentioned suicide. The book also mentions that Jeffrey had bought a six pack of beer (on the day he died?) and five empty beer cans were found at the crime scene. One can was never recovered and the police even checked the trash yet were unable to find it.

Hmmmm, a lot of interesting new information. I don't know how to perceive that info about him watching "Full Metal Jacket". Could it have given him inspiration to kill himself in that matter (since Digman's suicide looks VERY similiar to the suicide in the movie), or are they implying that since he found the scene so disturbing, he would never kill himself in that fashion (much like how Dan Casolaro's squeamishness about blood should rule out him slashing his own wrists)?

Most of the stuff I've heard about this case would definitely lean me towards suicide, but that missing beer can is a bit strange. However, after he bought the six-pack, I guess he could have simply starting drinking in the car while driving home and tossed the first beer can out the window somewhere.

Really 'on the fence' with regard to this one.

I don't see anything here that would be so terrible as to drive a man to suicide - if being a marine was his childhood fantasy, perhaps realising that the reality of the organisation was somewhat different to what he expected would be a bit of a blow. It also begs the question as to why anyone would be drug tested if nothing is done in the event of a positive result?

At the same time, for Digman to be murdered and the Marines cover it up, then we're into 'Code Red' territory and given his previous career that would seem at best to be unlikely.Very possible that the segment may not have touched on the real spark for either murder or suicide...

I didn't neccessarily mean it was a cover up by the whole corps, or even a single unit, I'll agree thats unlikely.

It could have easily just been one or two marines. Or even someone not connected with the Marine Corps at all.

I was just reading a book called "Tales from the Morgue" by Dr. Cyril Wecht and was surprised that there was a chapter about the death of Jeffrey Digmin. I never realized that Wecht participated in the second autopsy conducted on Digmin after his body was exhumed. The book also has some pictures of the crime scene and Jeffrey's father demonstrating the bullet trajectory. It's an interesting read and mentions some details that weren't included on UM such as the fact that Digmin had recently watched "Full Metal Jacket" and had been disturbed by the scene where a soldier commits suicide while in bootcamp. Also, Digmin had talked with a neighbor about the fact that he was depressed and he mentioned suicide. The book also mentions that Jeffrey had bought a six pack of beer (on the day he died?) and five empty beer cans were found at the crime scene. One can was never recovered and the police even checked the trash yet were unable to find it.

Here is the book in case any one is interested:
http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Morgue-Forensic-Including-Peterson/dp/159102353X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326397896&sr=8-1

Incidentally, there is also a chapter on the suspicious airline crash at Gander, Newfoundland that was also featured on UM.

Interesting! Thanks to UM, we had no idea that Digman did in fact discuss suicide (to the extent he discussed it will most likely never be known) before he was found dead. And Digman's BAC was .24, so he definitely had waaaay more to drink that just that six pack. The empty beer cans being found at the scene do not corroborate the murder theory, IMO. What are the odds that his killers just so happen to pick the night Digman decides to get wasted before he flies back to Puerto Rico? And how could they have forced Digman to down the six pack without any signs of a struggle?

I personally don't think that the Full Metal Jacket detail means very much at all, but I can certainly see why civilians would think it is noteworthy.

I'm a former Marine myself, and while I won't claim that gives me some kind of omniciance, it does give me plenty of insight into his life and thought process, all the way down to the "little green book" in the case. I'll try to keep the military jargon to a minimum and keep my thoughts in layman's terms for clarity. If anyone with a deeper knowledge of the Marine Corps or military in general would like to PM me to discuss, please do so!

Let me say that Full Metal Jacket is a movie practically every Marine has seen, and the first half of it (the characters going through boot camp) is nearly revered by Marines for its authenticity. R. Lee Ermey, the actor who plays the part of the Drill Instructor, is a former Marine himself and frankly did a masterful job in the role. The movie changes completely at the point of the suicide scene, and honestly most Marines I know don't even watch it past that point. I'm slightly dating myself here but we used to say everyone's copy had a worn out first hour. (From watching half and rewinding the tape)

All that being said, a Marine watching FMJ is no more noteworthy than the average person watching Dancing with the Stars.

The point about Digman drinking heavily leading up to his death, in my experiance and opinion is also not highly unusual for a Marine. Even in peacetime(when Digman served), many Marines drink quite a bit for multiple reasons to include a fraternity-like atmosphere and a relief from the high-stress lifestyle (again, even in peacetime).

Finally, the controversy over the little green book is also overblown IMO due to a lack of understanding. I don't think this book was really a diary in the common meaning of the word, or at the very least it was not exclusively a diary.

As a squad leader and later a platooon Sgt, I had several of these books over the years. They are made by the Government Printing Office and very common. Most Marine leaders carried them around and used them frequently for lots of tasks, but looking back at a few old ones of mine, I saw lots of sensitive pieces of information like social security numbers, addresses, etc that I had used in conjunction with my duties and later blacked out when the need had passed. I'd also recorded map coordinates, drawn line of fire diagrams, had lists of books I wanted to read, and written down several personal things, such as a short letter to my father, some thoughts I was having while overseas on 9-11-01, and others. I say that to illustrate that mixing business and personal information together in such a book wouldn't be that unusual.

In his position, monitoring the drug testing of his unit, Digman could have had lots of sensitive information (SSN's, ect) jotted down in his book, as well as perhaps future testing schedules, methods for selecting testees or other information that should not have been released. Digman's unit would have had a Marine in charge of sensitive or classified information, and it would have been this person's duty to remove any pages containing such information from the diary. Again, this would have been completely normal.

In sum, many of the "suspicious circumstances" here are suspicious mostly because the general public doesn't have insight into the Marine Corps. I really don't know what happened to Digman, but my heart goes out to his loved ones. I'm not trying to stir up controversy with this post, rather I hope this explanation helps give a little bit of the Marine perspective to other members.

Wow, that makes perfect sense about the missing pages from the book. Thanks for the post!

Hmmmm, a lot of interesting new information. I don't know how to perceive that info about him watching "Full Metal Jacket". Could it have given him inspiration to kill himself in that matter (since Digman's suicide looks VERY similiar to the suicide in the movie), or are they implying that since he found the scene so disturbing, he would never kill himself in that fashion (much like how Dan Casolaro's squeamishness about blood should rule out him slashing his own wrists)?

The implications in the book were that this scene was possibly the "inspiration" for Digman's suicide.

Unrelated, but the book also mentioned that Digman was somewhat of a loner. According to his roommate, Digman once holed up in his room and listened to Henry Mancini's Moon River 50 times back to back.

Most of the stuff I've heard about this case would definitely lean me towards suicide, but that missing beer can is a bit strange. However, after he bought the six-pack, I guess he could have simply starting drinking in the car while driving home and tossed the first beer can out the window somewhere.

The book also mentioned that Digman had spoken with a female friend by telephone an hour or so before his death (I can't recall if this was mentioned on UM). According to the friend, Digman sounded "normal" during the call and she couldn't ascertain if he was intoxicated or not.

The friend also said she offered to give Digman a ride to the airport to catch his flight to Puerto Rico. She said he declined saying he had a ride...

Now I could see this going two ways...

Digman was anticipating someone to come and pick him up. This would make sense as he probably didn't want to leave his vehicle at the airport. Also, if Digman was drinking heavily, would he really want to drive? Perhaps someone was coming to pick Digman up, and this person was Digman's killer. This could also explain the missing beer bottle if this person had a drink with Digman.

or...

did Digman know he was going to commit suicide so the ride to the airport wasn't necessary?

It would be awesome to know if anyone did volunteer to take Digman to the airport that evening, but I've never heard anything on that point.

This case is so fascinating and kind of reminds me of the Rae Ann Mossor case. The circumstantial evidence strongly suggests suicide, yet the physical evidence suggests something else must have happened.

Wecht agreed with the Digman family's PI, Ted Gunderson, that the trajectory didn't make sense if the wound was self inflicted. The only way the trajectory would have worked is if Digman was in an unnatural crouching/stooping position near the foot of the bed when he pulled the trigger. However, his body would have ended up on the floor if that were the case.

At the end of the chapter, Wecht concluded that the best classification for Digman's death was "undetermined".

He was either murdered or shot accidentally and the body arranged to look like it was a suicide, or Digman did commit suicide, but someone moved the body for an unknown reason.

Another point worth mentioning - according to UM, there was GSR on Digman's hands. Wecht said the investigation into Digman's death was very sloppy and one of the reasons he cited was that Digman's hands weren't checked for GSR. I wonder who was correct?

I personally don't think that the Full Metal Jacket detail means very much at all, but I can certainly see why civilians would think it is noteworthy.

Thanks for your post. As a civilian, it was nice to hear some further explanation on those points. For what it's worth, I once watched Full Metal Jacket with a friend of mine who is a marine. We watched the whole film, but I remember him commenting he didn't normally watch beyond the first hour.

Still brainstorming here...

Some posters have suggested that it is unusual that Digman's roommate went to the neighbor for help entering the house when there weren't any obvious signs of danger.

Suppose the roommate did go in to the house with his girlfriend and found Digman's body. Perhaps he didn't realize Digman was dead and moved the body in an attempt to check for vitals and/or possibly to attempt to resuscitate him. Then, he realized that Digman was, in fact, dead. Not knowing if it is suicide or murder and perhaps concerned because he did move the corpse and in doing so possibly compromised a crime scene, out of fear of being "implicated" in what could be an unusual death, he goes to fetch the neighbor to establish an "alibi".

Just a thought.

Yep, I was suspicious of the roommate asking for a neighbor to help check out the situation at the house.

Seems like every single time I've read about a person enlisting a friend/neighbor/relative to check out the murder scene, it was to make sure they (the killer) didn't end up being the one to find the body.

I wonder how many times this happens and it's totally innocent, where person just doesn't want to check out the house alone so asks for help. I'm sure we never hear about those situations so this one could just be looking suspicious because we only hear about it when the outcome is bad.

Another couple things that bothered, me.....

I'd like to know how much equity Digman and the roommate had in the house and if they had a full payoff insurance policy on their mortgage in case one of them died. These two guys had pooled their money together and bought that house only 4 months before Digman's death. It could provide a motive, since the roommate would inherit the house, including all of Digman's part of the equity, without any problems. An insurance policy that would pay off the mortgage would be an even bigger motive, imo.

Finding out about Digman's high BAC when he was supposed to be getting ready to fly out to a place he didn't want to go to definitely made this look more like a suicide, imo, tho.

He was either murdered or shot accidentally and the body arranged to look like it was a suicide, or Digman did commit suicide, but someone moved the body for an unknown reason.

Is this what Wecht concluded, or is this your personal opinion? I think it's possible that because he was so intoxicated he may have accidentally shot himself. I still don't see a case for murder, though. Unlike the Rae Ann Mosser case, there is no evidence than any other person was around on in the house when Digman was shot, other than Digman himself. He had an extremely high BAC, had GSR on his hands, he was described as a "loner", discussed suicide with someone prior to his death, and did some oddball things prior to his death...I just don't see how this could have been anything other than suicide.

As for the ride to the airport, I would guess Digman planned on killing himself that night which is why he declined the ride. Had there been a real "ride", this person would have came forward, or been the one who discovered Digman was dead. Unless of course this person who was supposed to take him to the airport had a motive to kill Digman and did so, which seems boderline impossible to me.

Is this what Wecht concluded, or is this your personal opinion?

The three possibilities I mentioned were Wecht's conclusions.

I'm actually going to agree with Wecht and go with "undetermined" on this one.

I realize the circumstantial evidence strongly supports suicide. However, the physical evidence suggests he couldn't have shot himself and been found in the position he was in, so he was either murdered or shot accidentally and placed in that position by someone else to pass it off as suicide, or he committed suicide and the body was moved.

I personally link this case with Mossor's because of the unusual issue of the circumstances versus the physical evidence. In both situations, logic would dictate these deaths were suicides based on the circumstances. However, the physical evidence tells a different story, and I think that is what we need to go by.

There really is no way to explain the facts otherwise. Therefore, "undetermined" is a sound conclusion, and Digman's death was ultimately classified as such. However, the military didn't investigate further.

Suppose the roommate did go in to the house with his girlfriend and found Digman's body. Perhaps he didn't realize Digman was dead and moved the body in an attempt to check for vitals and/or possibly to attempt to resuscitate him. Then, he realized that Digman was, in fact, dead. Not knowing if it is suicide or murder and perhaps concerned because he did move the corpse and in doing so possibly compromised a crime scene, out of fear of being "implicated" in what could be an unusual death, he goes to fetch the neighbor to establish an "alibi".

I see this as a definite possibility. It would account for the roomate's strange reaction to simply seeing that Digman was still home would warrant the need to get a neighbor to help him check it out.

Exactly. The marine knew something was amiss. Jeffrey by all accounts was strictly to the book on things. It would be weird to see him miss his plane.

This doesn't mean the marine is guilty - far from it - I think if anyone would know secret stuff about the marines and who would be after him it would have been his roomate.

This is clearly a homicide. Another honest man dying from an apparent dishonest man

I wondered about the marine roommate too. Why did he get the neighbor and what did he think the neighbor would do except be a witness when the body was found? If there was someone in the house, it would have been irresponsible to bring a neighbor in and put them in danger...

I always thought it was suicide myself.

And even if Jeffery Digman was dissapointed with getting no results about turning officers in who were into drug usage, you really think thats enough to drive someone to suicide? I seriously doubt it.

Don't underestimate the cronyism in any type of military bureaucracy, especially one as political as military officers. If Digman was making a serious fuss about this and not just mentioning the drug testing failures without punishment in passing, it would guarantee that he would be stuck as a captain for the rest of his existence. His transfer to Puerto Rico was certainly no coincidence. It's a clear message of "Go away." Yeah, being a gung ho marine in light of such nonsense, from a guy with alcohol issues, could very well commit suicide over such a thing.

Herein lies the the problem with so many of these "was it murder or suicide" type segments on UM. The family will swear up and down that their loved one wouldn't kill him/herself. Unfortunately, because the act is so irrational and personal, whose to say anyone isn't capable of committing suicide at any given moment?

Applying the rational thought process is silly. Family members can never know when one suffers from severe mental illness. After all, it's not as if the family is interacting with that person every day. For example, I speak with my mother much more often than most people do, but if something crazy happened, it's unlikely she would know of it if I didn't tell her about it outright. Digman's own mother did not know of the drug testing issues until she bumped into the issue herself. He didn't volunteer information.

Why would the roommate be that alarmed by seeing his car in the driveway and the lights on? Granted, if the door was wide open or a window was broke, I could see getting help from a neighbor. But the only thing amiss was that Digman's car was still there when he was supposed to be on a flight. Why was his roommate's first reaction to seek out help? Wouldn't it make more sense to assume that Digman had simply fallen asleep or was running late? In a way, this lends credence to the murder theory because if his roommate (also in the army) knew he was going to be murdered that night it would explain why he felt the need to get a neighbor to check the house with him.

The simple answer is that military types are weird and don't think like civilians. The notion of being late for anything is fundamentally strange, and one is only late when something has gone awry.

I don't understand the fixation on his roommate. Getting a neighbor isn't that odd. He's a major in the USMC, not a grunt. Officers don't even talk with enlisted members. Their mentalities are totally different. Think of the difference between a manager and some low wage laborer. That's the distinction between officers and enlisted men. Officers wouldn't pull their guns out as a first reaction. Also, how would it have been advantageous for Digman to die? They both owned a house together. If Digman committed suicide, then it was selfish because the major had a risk of having his credit hurt. If he didn't commit suicide and the major had information on such circumstances, then it would have been disadvantageous for him for credit reasons.

Bullet trajectories are unpredictable, and there is no one way that Jeffrey's body had to be positioned when he shot himself.

Yeah, his dad, an engineer ironically, is being silly. You can't predict the motion of things like that. Basic physics experiments always give different results in such a way that an average must be taken to extrapolate any meaning. There is no average to be taken here since one man is found dead next to a gun in a very controlled situation. But his father claiming he would have had to fallen off the bed had he shot himself is silly because that would not have had to happen necessarily. All sorts of things can go wrong in a suicide like that.

If Digman was drinking heavily, would he really want to drive?

Drinking and driving wasn't nearly as stigmatized then as it is now. Concerning the rest of what you said, it seems to me like Digman was lying and there was never a driver. And if the driver did in fact kill Digman, the driver had to be someone on the inside because Digman's killing was simply put professionally done, if it was not a suicide. And what is the motive for murder at that point? Unless Digman was a threat to that position's career or position (which is unlikely since Digman was done with the USMC by this point as indicated by his transfer to Puerto Rico, which was punishment), no officer would have killed him in such a way. It's just not likely.

All in all, it's much more likely that Digman committed suicide.

That their parents hired Ted Gunderson (assuming it's the Ted Gunderson), that speaks for itself. Gunderson is a crank.

I think the reason why people think the roommate's actions were odd that night is because he had his girlfriend with him, and it was only 15 minutes after Digman's flight was supposed to depart. It wasn't like he was alone and saw a door ajar or something to alert him that there was a possible break in. He saw Digman's car in the driveway and the lights in the house were on. IMHO it is odd behavior to get a neighbor to come check out your own house (when there are no signs that anything is wrong other than your roommate still being home), but I also don't believe it was for any nefarious coverup reason. I just think the roommate either scared easily or knew Digman was depressed and/or suicidal and didn't want to discover his dead friend.

Just re-watched this one tonight and I don't think this has yet been put out: there is no such thing as a "drug testing unit" in any branch of the military--at least insomuch as drug testing being a unit's primary mission. Drug testing in the military is done by urinalysis, and all units conduct them. You will do them ALL the time. You can be ordered TO do one at any time. It's not anything major or special.

UM is notoriously bad about clearly explaining the actual duty positions of the service members it profiles, but it appears Jeffrey Digman was a company commander in some subordinate unit of Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego. Based on the segment's emphasis on "drug testing", he was likely assigned to a company in Support Battalion of the Recruit Training Regiment. Everyone's drug tested when they're received at basic training, and that's PART of what Jeffrey's unit did.

There is nothing to indicate Digman's move to Puerto Rico had anything to do with backlash about his supposedly making a stink at San Diego. It could have simply been his time to PCS. As well, his alleged despondent mood could be attributed to the fact that his transfer was literally thousands of miles away from his home (bear in mind he was never far from his parents while stationed at San Diego) and outside the United States. These moves are extremely tedious and can be very difficult for people used to seeing their families regularly.

While I concede that "politics" is sometimes a reality in the military, there is no definite that Digman would have been "punished" by complaining to someone about any apparent drug test failures--and I'm assuming what Digman specifically took issue with was allowing positive-test recruits to continue through basic training. I cannot imagine one captain in an entire battalion full of officers and NCOs being the ONLY one to have a problem with this, if that was indeed an accurate story. Especially in the Marine Corps.

Summed, I don't think Jeffrey Digman's death had anything to do with San Diego at all. There really isn't any evidence supporting that theory at all.

I would love to know MUCH more about this major he shared the house with, however. Some articles cite him as a "former supervisor" of Digman's.



Also:

The simple answer is that military types are weird and don't think like civilians.

Punctuality is weird? :confused:

Officers don't even talk with enlisted members.

Officers talk with enlisted folks all the time. :lol:

IMHO it is odd behavior to get a neighbor to come check out your own house (when there are no signs that anything is wrong other than your roommate still being home)

I agree. Officer, enlisted, civilian, or kangaroo--that's strange.

Unless, as you mentioned, Jeffrey's roommate had reason to believe he was suicidal. Even though I think this was a murder, I do think it's possible that could have explained his roommate's actions that evening.

I agree. Officer, enlisted, civilian, or kangaroo--that's strange.

Unless, as you mentioned, Jeffrey's roommate had reason to believe he was suicidal. Even though I think this was a murder, I do think it's possible that could have explained his roommate's actions that evening.

I think Digman downed one to many beers, was upset about the transfer, and killed himself. I'm glad you cleared up the confusion about the drug testing that Digman was supposedly in charge of. Makes the suicide sceanrio seem more likely.

I think Digman downed one to many beers, was upset about the transfer, and killed himself. I'm glad you cleared up the confusion about the drug testing that Digman was supposedly in charge of. Makes the suicide sceanrio seem more likely.

I too would totally agree with the suicide explanation--there is much to suggest possible indicators in his life at the time--if there weren't so many odd things about the scene, namely the position of Digman's body. If he were seated on the edge of his bed, he wouldn't have fallen neatly backward as the photograph showed. He would've fallen forward and ended up on the floor. The .44 pistol also would've been on the floor, but it was found next to Digman's body.

I also don't see any way that blood could've run straight down the side of his head if he shot and killed himself instantly.

I think someone arranged him on that bed.

I too would totally agree with the suicide explanation--there is much to suggest possible indicators in his life at the time--if there weren't so many odd things about the scene, namely the position of Digman's body. If he were seated on the edge of his bed, he wouldn't have fallen neatly backward as the photograph showed. He would've fallen forward and ended up on the floor. The .44 pistol also would've been on the floor, but it was found next to Digman's body.

I also don't see any way that blood could've run straight down the side of his head if he shot and killed himself instantly.

I think someone arranged him on that bed.

I guess it's possible that Digman's roommate actually went inside the house, found Digman, checked him and saw that he was dead before going back outside to get the neighbor to go in with him. That could explain why his body looks like it was neatly positioned. I know it's grasping at straws, but that would also explain the odd request of the roommate to go get a neighbor.

How many rounds were fired? He had gunshot residue on his hand, right? Do they think he was forced to shoot himself if not suicide?? I mean, did they explain away the residue? The neighbor not going in was odd to me as well.

I just watched this segment for the first time in quite a while. I came away from it thinking he probably killed himself but that there was certainly a question for murder.

My main question is why was his roommate so alarmed by Jeffrey's car being parked at home when he was supposed to have been on a flight that left shortly before then? I assume he figured Jeffrey would have parked his car at the airport, but what if he had gotten a ride or called a cab? I find it very odd that his roommate was so troubled by this, that he goes to a neighbors house to help him in searching the home. Maybe he knew Jeffrey was suicidal, but if that's the case, wouldn't he have told Jeffrey's parents after they found his body or at the very least, while they were petitioning everyone and their mother to investigate this as a murder?

Ultimately, I feel like his roommate probably found his body and panicked as he didn't want to be the one who found the body and asked a neighbor to help him look through the house. There just isn't anything suspicious about someone's car being parked in the driveway when you aren't expecting it there, to warrant being freaked out about searching the house.

The obvious standout fact on this is the Marine who is supposed to be a tough guy (he's a Marine!), had to call a neighbor to go look at the house. And the neighbor is the one he lets find the body.

The obvious standout fact on this is the Marine who is supposed to be a tough guy (he's a Marine!), had to call a neighbor to go look at the house. And the neighbor is the one he lets find the body.

I've always thought that the roommate had likely already gone in and saw Digman dead, and then played dumb and got a neighbour so there would be a second witness. I don't see him as a suspect.

Mr. Digman's hairpiece is worthy of its own thread.

Maybe I'm just an oddball, but I never found the roommate's actions that suspicious. On the segment, it is indicated that Digmin was supposed to leave for Puerto Rico. This wasn't a pleasure trip, but an assignment. By the time the roommate and his girlfriend arrived home, Digmin's flight was supposed to have already departed. In addition, Stack mentions that the garage was open, lights were on, and so forth.

My point is the friend gets home with a few basic expectations. First, that Digmin SHOULD be gone because he was supposed to leave on an assignment. The roommate being in the military himself, he likely knew how serious orders are and also how out of character it would be for Digmin not to follow them. Extrapolating from that, his vehicle should not have been there. The house probably should have been closed up, lights off, etc. as it wouldn't have made sense for Digmin not to have done those things if he was leaving for an extended period of time.

With that context in mind, everything that the roommate came home to was unexpected and was in the opposite direction of what he probably thought he was going to see upon his arrival.

With all that in mind, I don't see his actions as unreasonable. Not only that, but the segment mentions his girlfriend was with him. Maybe she was alarmed and she suggested he get the neighbor. Had the guy been alone, he might have felt better about going in, but if he does walk into something unexpected that he can't control (such as multiple intruders or someone with a weapon for example) then he's putting himself and also his girlfriend at risk.

Overall, I just feel the guy was being cautious given the unexpected things he saw at the house, is all.

Maybe I'm just an oddball, but I never found the roommate's actions that suspicious. On the segment, it is indicated that Digmin was supposed to leave for Puerto Rico. This wasn't a pleasure trip, but an assignment. By the time the roommate and his girlfriend arrived home, Digmin's flight was supposed to have already departed. In addition, Stack mentions that the garage was open, lights were on, and so forth.


Why involve an unarmed civilian from across the street and bring him into the house? Why not immediately call the police if he knew something was wrong?

Why involve an unarmed civilian from across the street and bring him into the house? Why not immediately call the police if he knew something was wrong?

YES! ^^^ This x 100!

His roommate was home, but maybe his flight got cancelled, maybe he got sick, whatever. Him just being home isn't that suspicious. The lights were on and the garage door was open. If the door was slightly ajar with the lights out, or if he saw multiple people he didn't recognize, you might have a reason to worry. Nothing about that scene should have caused the major enough concern to get other people.

However, the guy was a major in the Marine Corps. If he was that concerned, why not call the police? The only thing an older neighbor could do is be an alibi for when the body was discovered.

For the record, I'm not saying the major had anything to do with it but his behavior is very odd, especially for a grown man in the military.

If it's true that he was shot in the right temple but he was left handed, that is also extremely odd. I tend to think this probably was a suicide yet not everything adds up.

My only thoughts about the roommates actions not being suspicious would be if he knew or thought that Digman was or could be suicidal. Then his actions make sense.

WARNING: I'm not trying to cause anyone to get angry, but these are my actual feelings on the case.

I seriously felt like Digman, dug men, if you catch my drift. His mother mentioned how he wanted to be "macho", and that's why she think he joined the military. People have also noted that he seemed depression, or odd, in some cases. I wonder if he was secretly gay, or fighting homosoexual urges. I understand being a loner, and quiet doesn't make you gay, but seeming depressed when you have a great career, and loving parents seems a bit odd when no one can pinpoint why he was depressed. Maybe there's some other trauma in his background, but I think he was in the closet and was trying seem overly macho to fight his gay feelings.

His girlfriend had mentioned that he was despondent before leaving Puerto Rico, but I wonder if he was depressed because he didn't want to be with her. When he died he was drinking heavy alone obviously running away from something, but what? Either he was being blackmailed in the military, or he was in the closet.

Now, to talk about the roommate actions. Him getting the neighbor was certainly odd, because why conclude that someone had broken in, or he was murdered? You couldn't have thought that his flight was cancelled/delayed? He overslept? Personally, I think he found his body, but didn't want to be a suspect so he got a neighbor to "create a witness" so to speak. I don't think he did it, but I do think he either knew he was going to commit suicide (previous conversations), or he saw his body but didn't want to be a suspect.

My theory is suicide. From the high BAC, to his earlier depression, he was obviously thinking about this for a while. Military madness, or fighting gay urges, who knows?

Note: This isn't me trolling, but I've had a gay male friend for years who was closeted gay from his family. He's a preacher in the church, and comes from a super religious background, and he keeps it hidden from most people in his church, and family. He recently got married to an unsuspecting female to keep appearances with his family, and church. He isn't straight in the slightest, but is trying to "pray the gay away" so to speak, and has fallen into a depression. That made me think about this case.

WARNING: I'm not trying to cause anyone to get angry, but these are my actual feelings on the case.

I seriously felt like Digman, dug men, if you catch my drift. His mother mentioned how he wanted to be "macho", and that's why she think he joined the military. People have also noted that he seemed depression, or odd, in some cases. I wonder if he was secretly gay, or fighting homosoexual urges. I understand being a loner, and quiet doesn't make you gay, but seeming depressed when you have a great career, and loving parents seems a bit odd when no one can pinpoint why he was depressed. Maybe there's some other trauma in his background, but I think he was in the closet and was trying seem overly macho to fight his gay feelings.

It would've been a very difficult time to have been a gay service member in 1988: you could be discharged for it. And this was well before don't ask, don't tell, so even closeted individuals were at risk of losing their careers, pay, and benefits.

It's an interesting theory.

It would've been a very difficult time to have been a gay service member in 1988: you could be discharged for it. And this was well before don't ask, don't tell, so even closeted individuals were at risk of losing their careers, pay, and benefits.

It's an interesting theory.

That's exactly my thinking. I don't know if he was gay, nor am I saying he for sure was, but it's just something I thought about. He obviously dated that woman for appearances, and didn't care about her. He didn't even offer to bring her back home when he visited.

A talented kid who was super into sports, and was "macho", turned into a quiet, neat, and depressed adult? I think he was secretly gay. It adds up to the depression, alcohol, and suicide. He never even told his parents why he was depressed (to our knowledge)

I personally don't think that the Full Metal Jacket detail means very much at all, but I can certainly see why civilians would think it is noteworthy.

I'm a former Marine myself, and while I won't claim that gives me some kind of omniciance, it does give me plenty of insight into his life and thought process, all the way down to the "little green book" in the case. I'll try to keep the military jargon to a minimum and keep my thoughts in layman's terms for clarity. If anyone with a deeper knowledge of the Marine Corps or military in general would like to PM me to discuss, please do so!

Let me say that Full Metal Jacket is a movie practically every Marine has seen, and the first half of it (the characters going through boot camp) is nearly revered by Marines for its authenticity. R. Lee Ermey, the actor who plays the part of the Drill Instructor, is a former Marine himself and frankly did a masterful job in the role. The movie changes completely at the point of the suicide scene, and honestly most Marines I know don't even watch it past that point. I'm slightly dating myself here but we used to say everyone's copy had a worn out first hour. (From watching half and rewinding the tape)

All that being said, a Marine watching FMJ is no more noteworthy than the average person watching Dancing with the Stars.

The point about Digman drinking heavily leading up to his death, in my experiance and opinion is also not highly unusual for a Marine. Even in peacetime(when Digman served), many Marines drink quite a bit for multiple reasons to include a fraternity-like atmosphere and a relief from the high-stress lifestyle (again, even in peacetime).

Finally, the controversy over the little green book is also overblown IMO due to a lack of understanding. I don't think this book was really a diary in the common meaning of the word, or at the very least it was not exclusively a diary.

As a squad leader and later a platooon Sgt, I had several of these books over the years. They are made by the Government Printing Office and very common. Most Marine leaders carried them around and used them frequently for lots of tasks, but looking back at a few old ones of mine, I saw lots of sensitive pieces of information like social security numbers, addresses, etc that I had used in conjunction with my duties and later blacked out when the need had passed. I'd also recorded map coordinates, drawn line of fire diagrams, had lists of books I wanted to read, and written down several personal things, such as a short letter to my father, some thoughts I was having while overseas on 9-11-01, and others. I say that to illustrate that mixing business and personal information together in such a book wouldn't be that unusual.

In his position, monitoring the drug testing of his unit, Digman could have had lots of sensitive information (SSN's, ect) jotted down in his book, as well as perhaps future testing schedules, methods for selecting testees or other information that should not have been released. Digman's unit would have had a Marine in charge of sensitive or classified information, and it would have been this person's duty to remove any pages containing such information from the diary. Again, this would have been completely normal.

In sum, many of the "suspicious circumstances" here are suspicious mostly because the general public doesn't have insight into the Marine Corps. I really don't know what happened to Digman, but my heart goes out to his loved ones. I'm not trying to stir up controversy with this post, rather I hope this explanation helps give a little bit of the Marine perspective to other members.

Hops is one of my favorite posters, and it's stuff like this that's the reason why.

This is my own little green book. I have pages torn or information blacked out with a permanent marker for precisely the reasons he outlined above. I also have shopping lists, quotes from others I found poignant, and at least one thing I jotted down for a former colleague during a meeting that's basically not any different than those notes you pass to your friends in class in grade school.

Plus they made it seem like his parents lived 'nearby' when in fact Cypress is about 40, 45 miles west, northwest of Temecula. Temecula itself is in Riverside County, not San Diego County. That is why even watching the segment when they made it sound like he lived in San Diego, yet the investigator was from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, so I knew UM screwed up on the details. Temecula is close to Digman's former base Camp Pendelton, it is roughly 10 to 15 miles northeast of the base.


I thought the same thing. They said his house was in San Diego, but it was in Temecula (I knew something was up when they said Riverside County). Does anyone have an address for the home he owned? I have family in the area and am curious if the house is nearby. Thanks!

Edit: Found the address: 39651 June Court.

I also just realized he's buried in the cemetery I lived near for many years. My ex's father is buried in the same cemetery.

I'm on the fence about whether or not he committed suicide. I feel awful for his parents :(

I'm on the fence about whether or not he committed suicide. I feel awful for his parents :(

If he was murdered, then what was the motive? I go back and forth on this one, but everyone said he seemed depressed, so I'm going with suicide. I wonder since it was time for him to go back to where he was stationed, he got depressed at going back to his "unhappy life" and just shot himself? His girlfriend said he seemed despondent, and depressed before he left, so maybe knowing he had to go back to that unhappiness made him pull the trigger?

If he was murdered, then what was the motive? I go back and forth on this one, but everyone said he seemed depressed, so I'm going with suicide. I wonder since it was time for him to go back to where he was stationed, he got depressed at going back to his "unhappy life" and just shot himself? His girlfriend said he seemed despondent, and depressed before he left, so maybe knowing he had to go back to that unhappiness made him pull the trigger?

Unsolved Mysteries is notorious for leaving stuff out, so maybe there was a motive we didn't know about or a random home invasion robbery that went south. It's unfortunate that he didn't leave a note, if he did commit suicide. It is odd that they'd find gun powder residue on his right hand if he was left handed. If he was hammered, that definitely could have pushed him over the edge to do it though.

I actually wrote the Riverside County, California Sheriff's Office several years ago. Since the case was ruled a suicide the investigative file had long since been destroyed. While none of us 100 percent know what happened, I tend to lean towards that it was not a suicide based off the physical evidence on the scene. It just seemed too perfect, too staged. The arms deliberately at the sides and things like that. Unless one thinks he shot himself in the head and then posed himself properly after the fact? If he was murdered it was by people who knew him quite well and for personal motives as clearly robbery or theft of any valuables was not the motive as nothing was missing as best as I can determine? It would have been the perfect opportunity to kill someone as in actuality it was Super Bowl Sunday and everyone was glued to their TV's watching the game.

Digman's dad, William Joe Digman died on December 8th, 2014 at age 89. His mother I believe is still alive.

Digman's dad, William Joe Digman died on December 8th, 2014 at age 89. His mother I believe is still alive.

I wonder if the still have the "mock up" set up.

Hey that was quite the set up they had or re-enactment of the crime scene aka death scene. Mrs. Digman is in her 80's now and I am sure has downsized or moved.

For the people who think he was murdered, what do you think the motive was? He seemed like a quiet, and to himself person, so what do you think the motive for murder was?

Maybe saw a drug deal or illegal stuff in the army base.

Digman was unhappy with a recent transfer to Puerto Rico, IIRC. Nothing suggests a motive for his murder, outside of vague references to a drug testing unit (which he no longer was in charge of doing because of the transfer). There's also no evidence that Digman was making waves within the military with claims of something shady going on from within the unit. IMO, the family was grasping at straws trying to find a murder that never really happened.

Digman was unhappy with a recent transfer to Puerto Rico, IIRC. Nothing suggests a motive for his murder, outside of vague references to a drug testing unit (which he no longer was in charge of doing because of the transfer). There's also no evidence that Digman was making waves within the military with claims of something shady going on from within the unit. IMO, the family was grasping at straws trying to find a murder that never really happened.

^ This.

It's obvious that something else was going on discretely in his personal life. Even before he left PR, his girlfriend said he seemed despondent, and sullen. I feel like he was depressed about something else that no one else knew about, and he dreaded having to go back to PR, and he was drunk so he just killed himself.

I still think he was in the closet possibly.

Ted Gunderson's involvement in the investigation basically as a hired gun by the parents never sat right with me. Just Google Ted Gunderson and you'll see what I mean.

The issue with suicide is, the physical evidence didn't really back up a suicide. To be honest, there is a lot more questions than answers in this case. To label it a suicide very early on was rather odd. At best it was a death that had a cause of death that was undetermined. The scene seemed too perfect, like it was set up. The fact he was transferred to Puerto Rico is interesting and not exactly a 'clean' place in and of itself in terms of drug trafficking. Basically there are certain things you can't ignore and it wasn't in dispute the bullet trajectory so if he had shot himself he would have fallen over on the floor and not have been laying neatly on the bed the way he was. I definitely will be trying to see if the Department of the Navy still has the records in their archives?

Basically why would he kill himself? Just to prevent going back to Puerto Rico? He evidently didn't have any financial problems. While he did have a history of heavy drinking, it didn't appear his depression was so severe that he had ever threatened suicide before or talked about it. That doesn't mean he didn't commit suicide but to me there are certainly too many gaping holes to say it was definitely a suicide. He had been unhappy about the transfer to Puerto Rico as he was from California and had just purchased a house near Camp Pendleton. He evidently had been adjusting positively to the environment in Puerto Rico. Certainly I don't believe there is any evidence to suggest that Digman was a closeted homosexual or that it played any role in his death. At that time you would have been forced out had they had evidence or even strong suspicions that you were a homosexual and it was done many times under a 'medical' discharge.

The issue with suicide is, the physical evidence didn't really back up a suicide.

It depends on who you talk to. Digmin's death was actually investigated by two separate agencies and he was autopsied twice. The findings of all of these investigations was suicide.

His family hired retired FBI agent and then private investigator Ted Gunderson. If you haven't done any reading about this guy I strongly encourage you to do so. The gist is he's one of those conspiracy theorist types who has investigated and found evidence for Satanic ritual abuse cases, the Illuminati, UFOs, etc. One of his partners was Anthony J. Hilder. Again, check out his background.

My point is with people like Gunderson involved, and knowing the motivation of the parents, is it any wonder that evidence of murder and government conspiracies was found? To me, this renders any of the physical evidence that proved homicide questionable at best.

Basically why would he kill himself? Just to prevent going back to Puerto Rico? He evidently didn't have any financial problems. While he did have a history of heavy drinking, it didn't appear his depression was so severe that he had ever threatened suicide before or talked about it. That doesn't mean he didn't commit suicide but to me there are certainly too many gaping holes to say it was definitely a suicide. He had been unhappy about the transfer to Puerto Rico as he was from California and had just purchased a house near Camp Pendleton. He evidently had been adjusting positively to the environment in Puerto Rico. Certainly I don't believe there is any evidence to suggest that Digman was a closeted homosexual or that it played any role in his death. At that time you would have been forced out had they had evidence or even strong suspicions that you were a homosexual and it was done many times under a 'medical' discharge.

The inherent problem in trying to ascribe a motive to suicide is that we can't get inside the person's head. Suicide is a very personal decision, the results of which aren't often easy for family and friends to understand or comprehend. Personally, I wouldn't rely on someone saying of the deceased "they had everything to live for, they wouldn't commit suicide" as evidence of anything. Think of all of the celebrities who have committed suicide. Most of them had fame, money, and lifestyles the average person would do anything to achieve, and yet they still killed themselves.

Basically why would he kill himself? Just to prevent going back to Puerto Rico? He evidently didn't have any financial problems. While he did have a history of heavy drinking, it didn't appear his depression was so severe that he had ever threatened suicide before or talked about it.

There could be a thousand reasons why he would kill himself, we can't determine what he would/wouldn't do from a 5 minute segment on Unsolved Mysteries. Anything from being a depressed drunk to having a traumatic past. None of us know Jeffrey to say that he wouldn't commit suicide. His life could look fantastic on the outside, but could be hell inside.


Certainly I don't believe there is any evidence to suggest that Digman was a closeted homosexual or that it played any role in his death. At that time you would have been forced out had they had evidence or even strong suspicions that you were a homosexual and it was done many times under a 'medical' discharge.

I didn't intend to state that as a fact, just a possibility. His mother said he always tried to seem "macho", and joined the military because of it. Could've been over compensating. However, after he joined multiple people said he was quiet, seemed depressed, and just kept to himself. It's quite a transformation to go from a masculine, hyper kid, to a super quiet and despondent adult. Now, this doesn't mean that you're gay, but it really seemed like he didn't care for his girlfriend. At all. He seemed depressed before he left PR, and didn't even ask her to go. To me it felt like he dated her to put on appearances, maybe to throw off the suspicion that he was gay.

He always seemed depressed and sullen by multiple people, hated being in PR, and seemed like he dated his girlfriend for appearances. I feel like he was possibly gay, and wasn't happy with his life with his girlfriend. However, he couldn't be himself, he'd have to go back to PR to continue living a fake life to keep up an image and to not get booted from the military. He drunk enough, got depressed and pulled the trigger.

Why you are obsessed with this notion that he was or wasn't gay I do not know? To me if he did kill himself it was hardly because of some closeted homosexual lifestyle. I mean that is crazier than the notion that he killed himself just to avoid going back to Puerto Rico. I will contact the Department of the Navy and will again contact the Riverside County Sheriffs Office to attempt to gain access to their files on the case. Basically I am not saying he didn't kill himself but I am not convinced he did and the evidence was weak enough it should have been labeled an undetermined cause of death because the evidence was really not even by a preponderance of the evidence. I also don't get where he was 'always depressed'?

Why you are obsessed with this notion that he was or wasn't gay I do not know? To me if he did kill himself it was hardly because of some closeted homosexual lifestyle. I mean that is crazier than the notion that he killed himself just to avoid going back to Puerto Rico. I will contact the Department of the Navy and will again contact the Riverside County Sheriffs Office to attempt to gain access to their files on the case. Basically I am not saying he didn't kill himself but I am not convinced he did and the evidence was weak enough it should have been labeled an undetermined cause of death because the evidence was really not even by a preponderance of the evidence. I also don't get where he was 'always depressed'?

Certain posters on this forum like to link suspicious male deaths that may or may not be suicide with them being gay. Its an easy way for them to say they have "solved" a case. Maybe it was suicide. But if it was suicide, does that automatically mean he was gay? I dont think so. I think enough points were raised by the family that foul play should be investigated instead of just sticking the label of suicide on the case and walking away.

Why you are obsessed with this notion that he was or wasn't gay I do not know? To me if he did kill himself it was hardly because of some closeted homosexual lifestyle. I mean that is crazier than the notion that he killed himself just to avoid going back to Puerto Rico. I will contact the Department of the Navy and will again contact the Riverside County Sheriffs Office to attempt to gain access to their files on the case. Basically I am not saying he didn't kill himself but I am not convinced he did and the evidence was weak enough it should have been labeled an undetermined cause of death because the evidence was really not even by a preponderance of the evidence. I also don't get where he was 'always depressed'?

Why are you so obsessed with it being a murder that you're denying plausible theories?

I'm not obsessed with him being gay, but it's my theory, just like your half-brained theory about it being a murder. So you think it's crazy that someone who's stuck in a lifestyle that he can't easily escape, and living in a place where he doesn't want to, and dating a woman that he doesn't care about would commit suicide?

All through the segment it states that he was depressed, and became a hermit which is a bold contrast from how he was before he entered. Like I said, I'm not saying he was actually gay, but it's a theory.

Also, how about you stop asking question after question, and start defending why you think he was murdered. Tell me what the motive was for his murder. You keep asking the same questions over and over because you disagree, but you're not adding any theories on why you think he was murdered.

Certain posters on this forum like to link suspicious male deaths that may or may not be suicide with them being gay. Its an easy way for them to say they have "solved" a case. Maybe it was suicide. But if it was suicide, does that automatically mean he was gay? I dont think so. I think enough points were raised by the family that foul play should be investigated instead of just sticking the label of suicide on the case and walking away.

I'm not saying he was gay to solve the case, it was just a theory. I have no evidence that he was gay whatsoever. So it's nothing more than a simple theory.

My problem with this being a murder is motive. His girlfriend said he hated being in Puerto Rico, there were other accounts of him being despondent, it was time for him to go back, and he was drinking heavy. Take the gay away, and I still think it was a suicide. There could've been a thousand things going on in his head/life that we don't know about.

There were some definite odd things about this case like his roommate, but I think it was another case of the family who couldn't accept that a loved one would do something like this. They had a right to be suspicious, but i'm going with suicide.

Alright, I just watched this again.

It was said that he came home around half-time of the super bowl, and at around 6 p.m. the bullet was heard ( a car backfiring), and at 10 p.m. his roommate had returned.

So between half-time, and 6 p.m. who came into the house, and killed Jeffrey, and what for? If he was murdered because of his involvement with the drug testing unit, then why didn't the military just request that he give the papers back? If this was such an intricate and important mission to get those papers back, then why didn't they just kill him in Puerto Rico? Why wait a few hours before it was time for him to leave?

He was drinking, got depressed, and killed himself. Unless you think his roommate had motive, then I'm going with suicide. It seems like such an odd, and intricate time to kill him. They waited until his roommate left (unless he was in on it), got someone to go into his home and kill him? Why not just do it in Puerto Rico?

Just saw this segment on TV last night.
I definitely lean towards suicide. I always have a deep suspicion about stories when families are pushing certain narratives. How many missing person cases do you see family members saying I know they are out there and alive even though almost guaranteed they are dead. This is a similar situation, people hate to think someone would commit suicide for some reason so look for ways out of it. This looks like that. The full bedroom reinactment was so OTT.
2 autopsies go that way and I don't find the alternative hypothesis particularly convincing.

Suicide. The more I think about it the majority of the suicide or murder cases are probably suicide. UM probably uses it's creative license to spin it in a likely to be murder direction.

Several people have mentioned that foul play was a possibility because of where his body was found, and the position.

But if you think hard enough, his body location, and position makes sense if you link his panicking roommate. It's possible that the roommate and his girlfriend came home to find Digman on the floor of his room. They both picked him up, and put him on the bed to see how he was, then they discovered he was dead.

Cue them running outside and getting the neighbor to establish a witness. I'm sure they thought about calling it in, but realized the roommate would become a prime suspect. So after picking Jeffrey up, and placing him on the bed, they decided to get the neighbor instead of calling the police.

EDIT: Sorry. Went back and read other replies, TheCars beat me to it.

One factor that hasn't been mentioned is the seeming logic of Digman's car at the home. Since his impending trip to Puerto Rico was to return for duty, why would he drive his car to the airport, only to pay a fortune in long term parking fees? He had reportedly arranged for a ride to the airport, so it would seem logical to leave his car at the home he co-owned, (although ideally in the garage, not the driveway.) Unless he was aware of Digman's alternate long term parking arrangements, why would his roommate be alarmed at the sight of the car at their home after Digman's flight time?

I lean towards suicide, especially after finding out who Ted Gunderson is.

Hiring him as a P.I. is like hiring a color blind person to tell you the sky is purple.

One factor that hasn't been mentioned is the seeming logic of Digman's car at the home. Since his impending trip to Puerto Rico was to return for duty, why would he drive his car to the airport, only to pay a fortune in long term parking fees? He had reportedly arranged for a ride to the airport, so it would seem logical to leave his car at the home he co-owned, (although ideally in the garage, not the driveway.) Unless he was aware of Digman's alternate long term parking arrangements, why would his roommate be alarmed at the sight of the car at their home after Digman's flight time?

Very true. I didn't even think about that. However, I'm sure his roommate knew about the planned ride but was obviously "playing dumb" so he wouldn't become a suspect. It's the same reason he went to go get a neighbor. He's just playing dumb so he wouldn't be suspected.

Just watched this case for the first time. One thing I find strange, is compared to other military cases where suicide is mentioned, usually there's more attention devoted to the supposed devious undercurrents that family/friends/others point to as the real cause of death. Not so much here. We get a bit of mention on drug testing, the father's claims that there was drug dealing going on and then that's it. No real discussion on the motivations for murder. Then again, there were no real discussions on possible motivations for suicide either.

The structure of this segment is somewhat off-putting, with too many holes that leaves me on the fence - despite the fact several here have offered up interesting theories. Even with as much as UM likes to hype up conspiratorial aspects and such, this segment seems pretty bare bones. Additionally, the one thing they did pay attention to--the roommate getting the neighbor-- was a pretty "WTF?" kind of move. To me it was much ado about nothing and doesn't quite fit, given that they never really explored other avenues anyhow.

But yeah. If it was suicide, I'm not going to question the motives here--which were most likely incredibly personal. If it was murder though, the question of motive still stands (and as I said, were never addressed).

100% suicide IMO.

He hated being stationed in Puerto Rico and built up the liquid courage to take his own life. Gunpowder residue found on both hands, there were no signs of a struggle and nothing was missing from the house. Open and shut case if you ask me.

I've spoken to Jeffrey's sister Paula before. She does not believe her younger brother committed suicide and the pain of losing her only sibling has not diminished since the day Jeffrey died. I wonder if she and their mother are still investigating the matter behind his death?

If we consider the theory that Digman was unhappy with his transfer, I think there are a handful of questions that arise. Digman was an active-duty Marine officer; the dude knows he's going to have to change station every 3-4 years at the least, and maybe outside the United States. So it makes little sense for him to be despondent over that isolated fact, and I'm nearly certain nobody here actually believes that to be the reason he may have been upset. But here's what I'd like to know:

-What kind of position did Digman take with his new unit? Was it another command? A staff position? Knowing greater details about what kind of job he actually took down there might shed some light on why he may have seemed so ill at ease. If he was assigned a position that was more or less a "demotion" from his San Diego job (i.e., a shoved-in-the-corner staff position coming from a company command), that could be a reason for his state of mind prior to his death. Military officers also are encouraged to hit "key development" positions throughout the course of their careers in order to provide for the greatest likelihood of advancement. For example, an Army captain in Military Intelligence should spend X amount of months commanding a MICO and X amount of months serving as a Battalion S-2 officer in order to be considered experienced enough to progress to Major. These aren't official requirements and people certainly progress without following the pattern strictly, but they are strongly encouraged and most military officers seek after them when plotting out their career moves. Maybe the PR move, in Digman's eyes, messed up his career path. Perhaps he may have even felt his assignment to PR was punishment for something he had done in San Diego. Who knows.

-What was going on in Digman's family life at the time? In-fighting, illness, other problems? Digman was actually from San Diego and his parents also lived there, IIRC. It's anecdotal, but I remember when I lived in Hawaii the military sometimes had problems with service members from the islands who had taken their first assignments there at home in Hawaii not wanting to leave when it came time for a permanent change of station (PCS) and eventually going AWOL. These incidents were sometimes related to the service members' never having left the island and being reluctant to do so, or more commonly I would surmise, having family concerns they felt they needed to physically remain in Hawaii to assist with. I'm not sure how widespread the problem was, but it was enough of an issue for the Army at least to extend some of those soldiers' tours to 5 or 6 years instead of the usual 3-4. Perhaps Digman had a somewhat similar issue.

If we consider the theory that Digman was unhappy with his transfer, I think there are a handful of questions that arise. Digman was an active-duty Marine officer; the dude knows he's going to have to change station every 3-4 years at the least, and maybe outside the United States. So it makes little sense for him to be despondent over that isolated fact, and I'm nearly certain nobody here actually believes that to be the reason he may have been upset. But here's what I'd like to know:

-What kind of position did Digman take with his new unit? Was it another command? A staff position? Knowing greater details about what kind of job he actually took down there might shed some light on why he may have seemed so ill at ease. If he was assigned a position that was more or less a "demotion" from his San Diego job (i.e., a shoved-in-the-corner staff position coming from a company command), that could be a reason for his state of mind prior to his death. Military officers also are encouraged to hit "key development" positions throughout the course of their careers in order to provide for the greatest likelihood of advancement. For example, an Army captain in Military Intelligence should spend X amount of months commanding a MICO and X amount of months serving as a Battalion S-2 officer in order to be considered experienced enough to progress to Major. These aren't official requirements and people certainly progress without following the pattern strictly, but they are strongly encouraged and most military officers seek after them when plotting out their career moves. Maybe the PR move, in Digman's eyes, messed up his career path. Perhaps he may have even felt his assignment to PR was punishment for something he had done in San Diego. Who knows.

-What was going on in Digman's family life at the time? In-fighting, illness, other problems? Digman was actually from San Diego and his parents also lived there, IIRC. It's anecdotal, but I remember when I lived in Hawaii the military sometimes had problems with service members from the islands who had taken their first assignments there at home in Hawaii not wanting to leave when it came time for a permanent change of station (PCS) and eventually going AWOL. These incidents were sometimes related to the service members' never having left the island and being reluctant to do so, or more commonly I would surmise, having family concerns they felt they needed to physically remain in Hawaii to assist with. I'm not sure how widespread the problem was, but it was enough of an issue for the Army at least to extend some of those soldiers' tours to 5 or 6 years instead of the usual 3-4. Perhaps Digman had a somewhat similar issue.

Being stationed in Puerto Rico probably wasn't the sole factor for him committing suicide, but could've been another formula in the equation. The problem with people who commit suicide is that you never really know what was going through their head. We're also not given much about his life other than a brief UM segment.

What motive would anyone have to kill him? To mirror what HotJock has stated, nothing was stolen, and there just doesn't seem to be anything to corroborate foul play.

To mirror HotJock again, as I think he bring up an excellent point, is that Jeffrey was drinking for liquid courage and then pulled the trigger. For whatever reason he didn't really want to go back, and seems like he was contemplating heavy and decided that he'd rather take his own life than to board that plane.

Sad case, but this story was about a depressed soldier who took his own life, and his roommate didn't want to be suspected of murder so he told some lies.

If we consider the theory that Digman was unhappy with his transfer, I think there are a handful of questions that arise. Digman was an active-duty Marine officer; the dude knows he's going to have to change station every 3-4 years at the least, and maybe outside the United States. So it makes little sense for him to be despondent over that isolated fact, and I'm nearly certain nobody here actually believes that to be the reason he may have been upset.

Just because he knew he had to change station every 3-4 years doesn't mean that he was happy staying in Puerto Rico. There could've been hazing, teasing, or even abuse on the base in Puerto Rico. Maybe some of the soldiers there made his life hard.

He also could've had a secret that someone there knew about and he was afraid of it getting out, or was being black-mailed. Something else was definitely happening in Puerto Rico for him to have taken his life. I'm going to get crucified for this, but I do think it was possible that he was in the closet. Just a hunch.

If we consider the theory that Digman was unhappy with his transfer, I think there are a handful of questions that arise. Digman was an active-duty Marine officer; the dude knows he's going to have to change station every 3-4 years at the least, and maybe outside the United States. So it makes little sense for him to be despondent over that isolated fact, and I'm nearly certain nobody here actually believes that to be the reason he may have been upset. But here's what I'd like to know:

-What kind of position did Digman take with his new unit? Was it another command? A staff position? Knowing greater details about what kind of job he actually took down there might shed some light on why he may have seemed so ill at ease. If he was assigned a position that was more or less a "demotion" from his San Diego job (i.e., a shoved-in-the-corner staff position coming from a company command), that could be a reason for his state of mind prior to his death. Military officers also are encouraged to hit "key development" positions throughout the course of their careers in order to provide for the greatest likelihood of advancement. For example, an Army captain in Military Intelligence should spend X amount of months commanding a MICO and X amount of months serving as a Battalion S-2 officer in order to be considered experienced enough to progress to Major. These aren't official requirements and people certainly progress without following the pattern strictly, but they are strongly encouraged and most military officers seek after them when plotting out their career moves. Maybe the PR move, in Digman's eyes, messed up his career path. Perhaps he may have even felt his assignment to PR was punishment for something he had done in San Diego. Who knows.

-What was going on in Digman's family life at the time? In-fighting, illness, other problems? Digman was actually from San Diego and his parents also lived there, IIRC. It's anecdotal, but I remember when I lived in Hawaii the military sometimes had problems with service members from the islands who had taken their first assignments there at home in Hawaii not wanting to leave when it came time for a permanent change of station (PCS) and eventually going AWOL. These incidents were sometimes related to the service members' never having left the island and being reluctant to do so, or more commonly I would surmise, having family concerns they felt they needed to physically remain in Hawaii to assist with. I'm not sure how widespread the problem was, but it was enough of an issue for the Army at least to extend some of those soldiers' tours to 5 or 6 years instead of the usual 3-4. Perhaps Digman had a somewhat similar issue.

All of your points are solid, and your last one reigns supreme for me. but to your first point... I assume he started his Marine career in SD? The segment doesn't really specify? with him starting off his Marine career at home (or being there early on) as an officer, that is quite a luxury, but perhaps not unusual for a Marine from SD. as you said it would have been inevitable that he would eventually have to move and he would have known this. yet he was able to stay close to family and probably had a very nice lifestyle.

Then to your second point. his career....it does appear that he may have been involved with something questionable in SD, but it also appears that he was doing his job as normal. Contrary to what we see in the movies or UM, when questionable things happen in a military workplace people usually don't get killed for it. perhaps someone gets reprimanded or re-assigned as you said.... It also does not make sense to me that he would have been wrapped up in what happened in his unit in SD after he had already left to a new assignment. If he would have been having a hard time in his job in SD, going to a new unit would have actually been a breath of fresh air. I feel as if his father's statement about a safe being taken is a red herring. Jeffrey simply could have gotten rid of it when he transferred because he no longer needed it. Something I have done multiple times in my job. If he had property stolen from his home in Puerto Rico that could be more relevant to the case.

For service members any permanent Change of station is very difficult, but the first one or two are almost always the most difficult because you have to leave your hometown or your first group of people that you have worked with. I would assume officer or enlisted this is the same, but also different. Which brings in your last point with him having been from SD. Although he had been in the Marines for a while, he likely would not have experienced these feelings of homesickness until after he left. This would be an aspect that other people around him may not capture about him in the moment because of his status. Coming back home to visit is also not the easiest thing especially when you have to leave again. I could go on further about that one, but you probably know that all to well.

Last thing I want to add is about alcohol. His parents do not speak of it. .24 is a lot...and nothing in the segment is mentioned of him having any type of problem, but we all know heavy alcohol consumption is a problem for service members.

WARNING: I'm not trying to cause anyone to get angry, but these are my actual feelings on the case.

I seriously felt like Digman, dug men, if you catch my drift. His mother mentioned how he wanted to be "macho", and that's why she think he joined the military. People have also noted that he seemed depression, or odd, in some cases. I wonder if he was secretly gay, or fighting homosoexual urges. I understand being a loner, and quiet doesn't make you gay, but seeming depressed when you have a great career, and loving parents seems a bit odd when no one can pinpoint why he was depressed. Maybe there's some other trauma in his background, but I think he was in the closet and was trying seem overly macho to fight his gay feelings.

His girlfriend had mentioned that he was despondent before leaving Puerto Rico, but I wonder if he was depressed because he didn't want to be with her. When he died he was drinking heavy alone obviously running away from something, but what? Either he was being blackmailed in the military, or he was in the closet.

Now, to talk about the roommate actions. Him getting the neighbor was certainly odd, because why conclude that someone had broken in, or he was murdered? You couldn't have thought that his flight was cancelled/delayed? He overslept? Personally, I think he found his body, but didn't want to be a suspect so he got a neighbor to "create a witness" so to speak. I don't think he did it, but I do think he either knew he was going to commit suicide (previous conversations), or he saw his body but didn't want to be a suspect.

My theory is suicide. From the high BAC, to his earlier depression, he was obviously thinking about this for a while. Military madness, or fighting gay urges, who knows?
Just watched this segment a few days ago wondered the same thing. I thought some of the photos of Digman that were shown gave off kind of a gay vibe. I’d file that angle under plausible but not very likely.

At any rate I think it was suicide brought on by some kind of personal problems and alcohol. The idea that he was killed because of some drug issue in his unit is total nonsense. Same with the supposed government paperwork he had illegally in his house that went missing. It’s 30 years later we will probably never know why. What a shame for his family.

Anybody else ever happen to read this article? I found some pretty interesting tidbits in it. The emphasis is mine.

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-10-21-me-4165-story.html

Jeffrey Digman’s life was as enigmatic as his death. A double-portrait of Digman emerges from the numerous pages of investigators’ materials, including those from a private detective as well as those from the Marine Corps.

While he served as a substance abuse control officer, who counseled others on drugs and alcohol, he himself was found dead with a blood alcohol level of .24. (California law forbids anyone to drive who tests with a .08 level or higher.) The young captain, who rarely pounded down drinks publicly, drank heavily in his own bedroom, said friends. While touted as a young man with a bright future, he was also nicknamed “Dr. Gloom.”

In evaluation reports, Digman is described as conscientious, honest, hard-working, intelligent, sincere, loyal, resourceful, and tireless. Only three months before his death, his supervisor Maj. Wood, commanding officer of Support Company (which has since been deactivated) at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, wrote that his executive officer Digman “has proven to be highly effective in all his responsibilities,” adding that “he has a bright future in the Marine Corps and he is someone who I would seek to work with again.”

Digman, who sported a buzz cut from the age of 4, had been a Marine almost nine years at the time of his death. After graduating from Cypress High School, Digman attended San Jose State University. For years, Digman was a devoted runner, usually jogging 10 miles a day. A painstakingly meticulous man, he kept his maroon 1964 Mustang and bright red 1983 Camaro polished and in perfect working shape--though he did not drive much, preferring to ride as a passenger. Though quiet, some friends say he seemed happy.

Some men who served in Digman’s company at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot said he was an inspiring and caring leader. When first told that Digman had killed himself, Gunnery Sgt. Larry Crutchfield said he was shocked.

“I said, ‘why?’ ” Crutchfield said. “Capt. Digman was extremely well-liked.”

The surprise was shared by many. Not only because it was Digman, who seemed to have so much going for him, but because suicide is not the Marine way, Crutchfield said.

“We learn never to give up no matter how hard the going gets. It’s the way we are designed--if you will,” he said. “Suicide goes against every little fiber in a Marine.”

But a darker side of Digman also surfaces. Frequently, Digman drank himself to sleep, said girlfriend Jema Riddle, a 34-year-old San Diego resident. “What worried me was he was drinking too much,” she said.

Painfully shy, Digman was very quiet in social situations, according to Riddle and investigative reports. He liked to leave work, run, watch television, and go to sleep at about 9 p.m. Digman lied and told Riddle and several others that he had graduated from Stanford University.

After he and Wood purchased a house together in June, 1987, Digman “exhibited obsessive possessiveness toward his house and possessions,” according to an advance copy of the Judge Advocate General’s report. His penchant for neatness was so strong, several friends told investigators, that he didn’t like them to put glasses on his coffee table.

In sworn testimony, Wood told NIS investigators that his housemate potentially needed professional help because “he was going through life with too much stress.” According to the Judge Advocate General’s report, dated Aug. 8, 1989, Wood “worried about ruining Capt. Digman’s career if he turned him in for substance abuse or that, even if he did turn him in, it would cause Capt. Digman to commit suicide.”

But reached by telephone, Wood told the Times that Digman did not have a drinking problem nor did he appear suicidal or depressed. “There wasn’t any time I felt he was suicidal,” Wood said. “I am not a doctor.”

On the day that Digman was found dead, Wood had returned with his girlfriend, Shari Miller, from Las Vegas. Digman had been assigned recently to Puerto Rico and had come to California for a one-week visit. Digman left Puerto Rico in January, 1989, telling friends that he was angry with Wood, co-owner of the Temecula house. He purchased a round-trip ticket and told his girlfriend there to have his dress uniform cleaned because he had an inspection upon his return.

According to Digman’s parents, most of the furnishings and belongings in the house belonged to their son. Miller told investigators that she shared Digman’s room with Wood, “under the impression that they had Digman’s permission.”

Upon his return, Digman, however, was “overly concerned” about the use of his belongings and his house, she had told investigators. Though they invited Digman to join them on their trip to Las Vegas, he declined. During his stay, he spent time with Riddle and another girlfriend.

He told these women that he was expecting Wood to give him a ride to the airport on Sunday Jan. 22 so he could return to Puerto Rico, according to reports. When Wood returned to the house Sunday evening, he noticed that the garage door was unlocked and a light was on in the house, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department report.

Wood told the sheriff’s deputies that he had felt there was “something wrong,” so he went to his neighbor’s house and asked Cleades D. Chaney to come with him and Miller into his home. Chaney’s wife also walked over. The two women stayed in the foyer. Wood went to the dark kitchen, Chaney walked to the lit bedroom, where he found Digman’s body on the bed. There were five empty beer bottles in the room.

Anybody else ever happen to read this article? I found some pretty interesting tidbits in it. The emphasis is mine.

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-10-21-me-4165-story.html

I seem to remember reading that a few years ago and it just all but confirmed the suicide theory. It also confirmed how slanted UM portrays it's murder/suicide/accident segments.

I seem to remember reading that a few years ago and it just all but confirmed the suicide theory. It also confirmed how slanted UM portrays it's murder/suicide/accident segments.

Amen. This really seals the deal here - no doubt it was Suicide.

Thanks for sharing that, Meg.

He was clearly a well-respected guy who was going through a rough patch. I feel a lot of sympathy for him and his family.

Thanks for sharing that, Meg.

He was clearly a well-respected guy who was going through a rough patch. I feel a lot of sympathy for him and his family.

I do too. I've known a lot of people like him and as a former military officer, I see a little of myself in stories about him. I hate that his life ended as it did.

Amen. This really seals the deal here - no doubt it was Suicide.

You have no clue what happened. it could have been a suicide, but no convincing proof or motive has ever been established.

Reading the article that MegtheEgg posted, I’m wondering what the reason is for the roommate, Douglas Wood, to give conflicting reports regarding Jeffrey Digman.

Under sworn testimony, Wood said…

*Digman needed professional help
*He was worried because Digman was experiencing too much stress
*Digman drank too much
*He worried if that he turned Digman in for substance abuse, it would cause him to be suicidal.

But when he was interviewed for the Times, Wood said...

*Digman did NOT have a drinking problem
*Digman was not stressed or depressed
*Digman was not suicidal, saying “There wasn’t any time I felt he was suicidal.”

Uh...which one is the correct account? He's giving two complete opposite end of the spectrum responses here. Why is that?

Reading the article that MegtheEgg posted, I’m wondering what the reason is for the roommate, Douglas Wood, to give conflicting reports regarding Jeffrey Digman.

Under sworn testimony, Wood said…

*Digman needed professional help
*He was worried because Digman was experiencing too much stress
*Digman drank too much
*He worried if that he turned Digman in for substance abuse, it would cause him to be suicidal.

But when he was interviewed for the Times, Wood said...

*Digman did NOT have a drinking problem
*Digman was not stressed or depressed
*Digman was not suicidal, saying “There wasn’t any time I felt he was suicidal.”

Uh...which one is the correct account? He's giving two complete opposite end of the spectrum responses here. Why is that?

Yeah, Doug Wood is a pretty big enigma in this case, especially in light of the fact that he felt like something was wrong when he arrived home the night of Digman's death and saw his car still in the driveway--so much so that he wouldn't even go in the house by himself. Why? Did he actually suspect he was he was going to find Digman dead of a suicide? Did he think a confrontation would take place? What was going through his mind? Clearly something.

I find it hard to believe the Times would've published that article and included the details they did based solely on information from Wood, so I'm guessing there was some grain of truth to them.

Why Wood contradicted himself though? Maybe he was involved in some shady activities that had absolutely nothing to do with Digman, but got spooked, fearing all the heat brought on by the case would eventually envelop him.

So I know I am bumping an old thread, but here are a few of my thoughts:

- For the roommate going to the neighbors house - I don’t see it in the article above or don’t remember it in the episode, but how do we know the neighbor was unarmed? Isn’t it reasonable to think that he went to the neighbors house to go with him to get a weapon in case someone was in the house? The garage was opened and the lights were on when no one was supposed to be home, maybe he wanted to get protection from a neighbor with a gun?
- and for all the talk of people would have called the cops, was it confirmed they didn’t call the cops from the neighbors house(maybe his significant other and date were on the phone with the cops at his house while the men went over to see what was happening?) Again, in this scenario, I can see someone protecting his property(especially a military man who is trained for harsh situations with the unknown) and taking it into his own hands before cops got there as he now had a weapon and the cops weren’t far behind to back him and his neighbor up if need be(partly to not let the potential robber get away if there was one)
- For the being 15 minutes after takeoff - just because I haven’t seen it mentioned, but by saying this, it isn’t implying he would have left for it 15 minutes ago. He still would have wanted to get to the airport early to make sure he caught his plane. I know airports were easier to get through back then, but you would still think he would have had to be there an hour early at least(I haven’t done airports until recently so I would have no idea pre 9/11) So even if the flight was delayed/he overslept/etc., he was still an hour+ late for his assignment. So that would raise some red flags for a normally punctual person I would think.
- for the bullet trajectory - Assuming that the father had the trajectory exactly correct in his recreated room, how would this trajectory fit in for the murder? While I don’t understand why he would have had to lean forward to himself for the trajectory(the bullet may not have started from where the trajectory string did, the bullet just would have had to end up at the end. For all we know he was in a crouched position on the bed that lined it up), but how would the murder have worked in this situation presented by the dad in his famous trajectory couldn’t happen recreation? He definitely died from that gunshot wound and nothing to indicate he was in a fight, so are they saying the murderer held the gun at that awkward of an angle and he just sat there and took it? Maybe you would think with the BAC Jeffrey was passed out from the alcohol(how lucky for the murderer), but again, why that position then? The bullet trajectory which is odd for a suicide if you believe that the father had it correct, makes even less sense for a murder unless I am missing something.

I personally believe suicide unfortunately here, and while watching the episode, I couldn’t help but feel bad for his father. He seemed like he was obsessing over every minor detail where it took over his life and he couldn’t let it go. I understand also as a parent your child is your life, and losing them would be hard one way or another, and I do hope he at the end of his life and his family have found some peace in their later years.

I personally believe suicide unfortunately here, and while watching the episode, I couldn’t help but feel bad for his father. He seemed like he was obsessing over every minor detail where it took over his life and he couldn’t let it go. I understand also as a parent your child is your life, and losing them would be hard one way or another, and I do hope he at the end of his life and his family have found some peace in their later years.

Welcome to the board.

The above is a perfect summation for virtually all of the suicide/murder segments UM produced.

Just watched this again...it's interesting to see the discrepancies in the roommates story, as this seems like a clear-cut case of suicide. Is it possible he was trying to comfort the parents when he gave the contradicting interviews?

Also if he knew Digman was depressed (and possibly suicidal) I could see why he wouldn't want to go in there by himself.

Just watched this again...it's interesting to see the discrepancies in the roommates story, as this seems like a clear-cut case of suicide. Is it possible he was trying to comfort the parents when he gave the contradicting interviews?

Also if he knew Digman was depressed (and possibly suicidal) I could see why he wouldn't want to go in there by himself.

I just watched this episode. I’m going with Occam’s Razor on this one. Suicide.