Just watched this case again and I really couldn't find too many old posts about this segment. It's very annoying and disturbing, especially since he was only 21 yrs. old. I wish there was more info on the net about this case. I did find this link: http://www.odmp.org/officer/11746-patrolman-stephen-a.-sandlin
says he was survived by his son and gf? I didn't know he had a son, that's interesting and I wonder why they didn't mention that, or I just missed it.

Just watched this case again and I really couldn't find too many old posts about this segment. It's very annoying and disturbing, especially since he was only 21 yrs. old. I wish there was more info on the net about this case. I did find this link: http://www.odmp.org/officer/11746-patrolman-stephen-a.-sandlin
says he was survived by his son and gf? I didn't know he had a son, that's interesting and I wonder why they didn't mention that, or I just missed it.

Yea I recently watched it too. No UM never mentioned he had a son. Interesting and sad. I never bought the theory he was playing with his gun and it went off. I tend to believe he was killed by drug dealers like the informant said. Especially considering the marijuana that was planted in his house after the police searched it. Well if Spike ever airs it, at least they'll let us know if there were ever any arrests in his case.

Well, Steve Sandlin was only 21 at the time so I imagine his son was only an infant at the time or maybe a year or two old at most. It might not have been viewed as politically correct to talk about the child. But I do find that interesting that he did have a child. Yeah, I never bought the theory that he was playing with his gun and that it went off accidently. I dont know, I just have always had the feeling that Chief Carson knew more about this case than what he was telling. I have kicked around the idea that Chief Carson might have even murdered Sandlin, that maybe they got into an argument at the police station and one thing led to another and Carson shot Sandlin. Carson by his own admission got into an argument or as he called it a 'disagreement' with Sandlin just before Sandlin returned alone to the police station. However I tend to think that Carson did not kill Sandlin. However I do think that Carson knows or at least strongly suspects who did kill Sandlin and is playing dumb about it. Clearly someone was uncomfortable with Sandlin doing all the investigating and drug busts he was doing. I mean this was a rookie cop that was getting together some pretty impressive stats in terms of drug busts. I do find it interesting he was murdered the day after he had talked to the New Mexico Attorney's General's office. It leads me to believe someone in the police department was in some way involved in Sandlin's death as how would anyone outside the police department and perhaps Steve's family know he had been talking to the New Mexico Attorney General's office? This case just stinks to high heaven and it goes all the way up to the top. I mean one of the assistant attorney general's that was actually doing his job was fired and another resigned in protest because of the bungling in the case.

This case is unfamiliar. Someone want to give us a synopsis?

This case is unfamiliar. Someone want to give us a synopsis?

I'm going from memory but he was a rookie cop at the Mountainair, New Mexico police department. I believe he was found shot dead at the police station. Soon after the police finished searching his house a bag of weed was found and most people are convinced it was planted there. An informant had told police after Steve was killed he was told a cop was going down. His memorial page said it is believed he was killed as retaliation for a large narcotics arrest he made 2 days earlier.

I don't know if anyone read the reflection page, but quite a few people wrote about him..including his brother.

I don't know if anyone read the reflection page, but quite a few people wrote about him..including his brother.


Newbie here:) What is a "Reflection page?"

Newbie here:) What is a "Reflection page?"

Its a page where people who knew Steve posted about him. If you click on the link the thread starter posted and then look a few inches below Steve's picture and click "view all reflections" it will take you to where you can read them. A little belated but welcome....:wave:

It's interesting to note that there was a big bag of marijuana found in Steve Sandlin's house. I would think the only people who have access to such things are either drug dealers or police officers involved in drug raids. Maybe one of Steve's fellow officers killed him and put the marijuana in his house to make him look bad. Hmm...

Also, it's worth pondering if there were any connections between drug dealers and the police. Corruption isn't out of the question.

There has been a lot of talk about police corruption in New Mexico, there was even a website devoted to it, I think called Real Crime. Whenever I see New Mexico and police department, I think there may be something involving a cover-up.

There has been a lot of talk about police corruption in New Mexico, there was even a website devoted to it, I think called Real Crime. Whenever I see New Mexico and police department, I think there may be something involving a cover-up.

Maybe but this case is one of a handful that UM profiled where they just didn't give the viewer enough information to make a proper determination as to what happened.

I had no idea they reclassified his death as homicide until reading a recent article where there was a memorial dedicated to Sandlin in Mountainair. This changes the whole complexity of the case, IMO. There's no doubt in my mind he was murdered by a drug dealer (probably the one he pulled over for DUI and later 50 lbs. of marijuana was found at his residence). I see it going down like this:

-Steve was talking to his girlfriend shortly before his murder and she said she heard a lady yelling at him in the background and that Steve said he had to go and it wasn't a big deal. This woman was probably there to create a disturbance that would distract Steve so someone could get the drop on him. I think he was murdered while being distracted by this woman.
-The police either directly or indirectly helped cover his murder up. The chief, Carson, was so smug in his interview about Steve always playing with his gun it makes me think he helped cover it up. Proof of a direct coverup was the bags of marijuana found in Steve's house after his murder. No one else would have had access to the siezed drugs outside of the police department. I can see Carson ordering the planting of the drugs to try to discredit Steve and to make his death look more unhonorable and more like a suicide.

I really hope they find some actual evidence of coverup in this case and had out some indictments. The chief suspect in the case (the man Steve arrestd for DUI) is now dead. He died in 2004 from an overdose.

So do you all think that the drug dealer mentioned (or maybe some of his associates as well) that was busted by Steve Sandlin paid-off some of the officers to keep them quiet and help cover up the murder?

So do you all think that the drug dealer mentioned (or maybe some of his associates as well) that was busted by Steve Sandlin paid-off some of the officers to keep them quiet and help cover up the murder?

Yeah. That's why the drugs were found in Sandlin's home. Only fellow officers would have had access to them.

I had no idea they reclassified his death as homicide until reading a recent article where there was a memorial dedicated to Sandlin in Mountainair. This changes the whole complexity of the case, IMO. There's no doubt in my mind he was murdered by a drug dealer (probably the one he pulled over for DUI and later 50 lbs. of marijuana was found at his residence). I see it going down like this:

-Steve was talking to his girlfriend shortly before his murder and she said she heard a lady yelling at him in the background and that Steve said he had to go and it wasn't a big deal. This woman was probably there to create a disturbance that would distract Steve so someone could get the drop on him. I think he was murdered while being distracted by this woman.
-The police either directly or indirectly helped cover his murder up. The chief, Carson, was so smug in his interview about Steve always playing with his gun it makes me think he helped cover it up. Proof of a direct coverup was the bags of marijuana found in Steve's house after his murder. No one else would have had access to the siezed drugs outside of the police department. I can see Carson ordering the planting of the drugs to try to discredit Steve and to make his death look more unhonorable and more like a suicide.

I really hope they find some actual evidence of coverup in this case and had out some indictments. The chief suspect in the case (the man Steve arrestd for DUI) is now dead. He died in 2004 from an overdose.

Like DD mentioned in an earlier post, I never felt there was enough determination in the UM segment to make a good determination on MPD's involvement and/or a definite drug angle. That article was very enlightening--particularly the theme of MPD correcting a wrong, for lack of a better phrase. I also found it interesting that out of the what, three or four remaining officers in that entire department, none of them attended Steve's funeral.

I watched this segment again a few months ago, and got the feeling that the MPD might have suffered from professional complacency (if not worse). A young, fresh, energetic, eager officer like Sandlin reportedly was can be a real irritant to an old guard--and especially one that engages in illegal activities. I wonder if his murder was perpetuated solely by an angry dealer who only afterward involved police in a coverup, or if the department itself planned a scheme because Steve had the potential to air any dirty laundry he might have later stumbled across--that is, was he branded a potential "trouble maker" and targeted solely on that basis by his fellow officers, who might not have been so squeaky clean--or was it indeed retaliation by the "hassled" dealer?

I watched this segment again a few months ago, and got the feeling that the MPD might have suffered from professional complacency (if not worse). A young, fresh, energetic, eager officer like Sandlin reportedly was can be a real irritant to an old guard--and especially one that engages in illegal activities. I wonder if his murder was perpetuated solely by an angry dealer who only afterward involved police in a coverup, or if the department itself planned a scheme because Steve had the potential to air any dirty laundry he might have later stumbled across--that is, was he branded a potential "trouble maker" and targeted solely on that basis by his fellow officers, who might not have been so squeaky clean--or was it indeed retaliation by the "hassled" dealer?

I think the chief of police interviewed in the segment made in obvious that Steve was gung-ho about his job and that it was irritating to him at least. He even said he told him to "slow down" and IIRC, there was mention that there was an argument between the two. I tend to think the drug dealer had ties with the PD somehow, and only utilized them to help with the coverup after Steve's murder.

I think the chief of police interviewed in the segment made in obvious that Steve was gung-ho about his job and that it was irritating to him at least. He even said he told him to "slow down" and IIRC, there was mention that there was an argument between the two.

Yeah, I remember Sandlin's girlfriend (I think it was her, anyway) saying he said something to the effect of "if I wanted to be a security guard, that's what I'd go do", or similar regarding that argument.

I really feel for him. It seems like the only thing he wanted to do was be the best police officer he could be. His department really let him down in multiple ways--potential murder coverup aside. It's so hard to be in an organization you want to legitimize and are constantly stonewalled at every turn--perhaps because you're making others look lazy or incompetent. Can't be taller than the other trees in the forest and all that. :rolleyes:

I tend to think the drug dealer had ties with the PD somehow, and only utilized them to help with the coverup after Steve's murder.

The fact that the department was actually under investigation for improperly handling evidence at the time doesn't do much to dampen the possibility of an officer planting that marijuana, as you and Zlatko suggested.

The "playing with his gun" thing is really lame conjecture, IMO, and I thought it reeked of nothing but Carson's contempt for the young man. No officer graduating from any legitimate training program would play with a firearm, let alone a loaded one.

You know, sometimes police officers and drug dealers "share the spoils", so to speak. I wonder if that's what was going on here--the police let the dealers do their thing, as long as they get a cut.

The "playing with his gun" thing is really lame conjecture, IMO, and I thought it reeked of nothing but Carson's contempt for the young man. No officer graduating from any legitimate training program would play with a firearm, let alone a loaded one.

As crazy as it sounds, before I found out his death was ruled a homicide, I actually agreed with Carson that it was most likely an accident. Steve was 21, and was described by everyone as extremely gung-ho, and I thought it seemed plausible that he was messing around with his gun during some down time. Now I can see how bunk it is.

You know, sometimes police officers and drug dealers "share the spoils", so to speak. I wonder if that's what was going on here--the police let the dealers do their thing, as long as they get a cut.

There's no doubt that's what happened. It's the only thing that would make sense considering the drugs were planted in Steve's house.

My take on this case is that while the MPD wasn't complicit in his death, the Chief of Police knew that was something was awry but chose to look the other way.

Back then, small police forces in small towns were rife with corruption. Not corruption on any kind of epic scale. But I can imagine that the cops had ties to the drug dealers and in exchange for some kick-backs they allowed the dealers to carry out their business. It's an old school way of both keeping an eye out on drug trafficking and keeping it from getting out of hand.

The dealer that Steve busted only had about 100k worth of pot in his house. That seems like a lot of money, but that's NOTHING compared to the huge amounts of coke and heroin that some dealers get busted with, which can have a street value in the millions.

But for a small town in NM, 100k is at least enough money for an officer to get a decent kick-back and look the other way when it comes to small-time pot distribution.

But Steve wanted to come in and kick ass and enforce the laws just like he was trained in the Academy. But the small-town force with its old ways wasn't going to allow that so they looked the other way while one of the dealers took him out.

It's absolutely tragic. My heart goes out to his fiancee for having to endure this loss. All because Steve wanted to do the right thing.

Here's my view of what happened:

The man that Steve arrested for possession was somehow connected. This doesn't mean he was rich or "mafia connected" but had some connections within the PD. It was a small town, only four police officers, including Steve. Steve mentioned to either his friend or brother (cant remember which) of an uneasy situation about to take place and he asked for his advice. The friend/brothers advice was simply, "tell the truth". This makes me think there may have been some sort of hearing regarding some stuff Steve had uncovered at a state or federal level and those directly in charge of him were trying to get him to hush.

There isn't a doubt in my mind that Steve was murdered. His girlfriend was on the phone with him minutes before he was killed and she heard the feint sounds of a woman's voice. My guess is this woman was somehow a rouse to distract Steve so someone else could disarm and kill him.

I'm not saying he was involved, but his chief or superior (guy interviewed in the segment) rubbed me the wrong way. It was almost as if he could care less that Steve was killed.

What's odd to me, is that Steve was still breathing when his chief found him. Why go to the trouble of trying to kill someone if you aren't even going to make sure they're dead?

I want to say that sometime within the past three years whomever took the position of Chief of the MPD had a memorial erected in Steve's honor outside the station. I would like to think that kind of gesture could indicate some fresh air in the department and new sets of eyes to look into things.

I've always had a feeling there is a whole lot more to the Sandlin case than what went into that rather compressed segment. Whether it was for the sake of time, considerations surrounding an on-going investigation, or just plain old tight-lipping from the MPD officers at the time, I guess we'll never know. But I always found it interesting that the on-going investigation by the state's attorney general into the MPD was rather glossed over, and that an assistant attorney general had been fired in the wake. No circumstances are given for that individual's termination at all, and all we know about the investigation was that it focused on the MPD "mishandling evidence".

Isn't the guy who Steve arrested (the huge pot bust) now deceased?

Here's my view of what happened:

The man that Steve arrested for possession was somehow connected. This doesn't mean he was rich or "mafia connected" but had some connections within the PD. It was a small town, only four police officers, including Steve. Steve mentioned to either his friend or brother (cant remember which) of an uneasy situation about to take place and he asked for his advice. The friend/brothers advice was simply, "tell the truth". This makes me think there may have been some sort of hearing regarding some stuff Steve had uncovered at a state or federal level and those directly in charge of him were trying to get him to hush.

There isn't a doubt in my mind that Steve was murdered. His girlfriend was on the phone with him minutes before he was killed and she heard the feint sounds of a woman's voice. My guess is this woman was somehow a rouse to distract Steve so someone else could disarm and kill him.

I'm not saying he was involved, but his chief or superior (guy interviewed in the segment) rubbed me the wrong way. It was almost as if he could care less that Steve was killed.

What's odd to me, is that Steve was still breathing when his chief found him. Why go to the trouble of trying to kill someone if you aren't even going to make sure they're dead?

I always felt this was the scenario as well

I just watched this on amazon. Ahhh chief Carson. What a *****.

What's odd to me, is that Steve was still breathing when his chief found him. Why go to the trouble of trying to kill someone if you aren't even going to make sure they're dead?

This depends on who actually did the deed. There are quite a few cases where, in lieu of a real hitman, a criminal will blackmail someone who owes them money into committing this kind of crime for them. If you've got a semi-willing murderer, then details like this can be missed.

What is interesting about this case and I agree Chief Carson was somehow involved or had at a bare minimum more knowledge about this case than he was telling. I have read several blog posts on the Officer Down Memorial Page and on various other sites. So many have alleged that Chief Carson either did it or was somehow involved. Also interesting is none of the other members of the Mountain Air Police Department attended Steve's funeral which is very unusual.

However there is more with Carson. Carson is actually connected to another UM case! That of the Eric and Pam Ellender in Sulphur, Louisiana. The prime suspect Chris Prudhomme was found hanging by the neck in his jail cell. Guess who the Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana jail officer who let Prudhomme into the shower? None other than David Carson, formally Chief of Police in Mountainair, New Mexico. Carson is now a Private Investigator in Louisiana.

What is sad is it appears little has changed in Mountainair in terms of the police. Though their recently fired chief, Robert Chung who was an NYPD officer for 20 years before coming to Mountainair stated he believed that Sandlin was murdered and lobbied for a memorial to be built. http://krqe.com/2017/01/03/council-members-vote-to-fire-mountainair-police-chief-effective-immediately/

Wow good updates there. Makes you wonder...

What is interesting about this case and I agree Chief Carson was somehow involved or had at a bare minimum more knowledge about this case than he was telling. I have read several blog posts on the Officer Down Memorial Page and on various other sites. So many have alleged that Chief Carson either did it or was somehow involved. Also interesting is none of the other members of the Mountain Air Police Department attended Steve's funeral which is very unusual.

However there is more with Carson. Carson is actually connected to another UM case! That of the Eric and Pam Ellender in Sulphur, Louisiana. The prime suspect Chris Prudhomme was found hanging by the neck in his jail cell. Guess who the Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana jail officer who let Prudhomme into the shower? None other than David Carson, formally Chief of Police in Mountainair, New Mexico. Carson is now a Private Investigator in Louisiana.

Well both of those cases involved weak investigations. No surprise to find him linked. The nerve of him to go on national television and say I think he killed himself or accidentally shot himself. That's quite a variation of possibility. For him to say that and not even consider foul play when the evidence screams foul play? Yeah I'm thinking he was involved to some degree.

However there is more with Carson. Carson is actually connected to another UM case! That of the Eric and Pam Ellender in Sulphur, Louisiana. The prime suspect Chris Prudhomme was found hanging by the neck in his jail cell. Guess who the Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana jail officer who let Prudhomme into the shower? None other than David Carson, formally Chief of Police in Mountainair, New Mexico. Carson is now a Private Investigator in Louisiana.

WHOA.

I had NO idea about any of this all these years until now. Extremely interesting.

Evidently the jail shower where Prudhomme was found could only be accessed by key as it was locked and the deputy on duty in the jail was David Carson. Carson has never denied letting Prudhomme into the shower but of course claims ignorance as to everything else. Carson was fired as Mountainair Police Chief in March of 1990.

Just re-watched this again. So obvious there was something rotten going on in that town.

What brought me to comment though is that info about the former police chief being connected to another case in Louisiana. Someone also mentioned the possibility of a quid pro quo arrangement existing between the cops and drug dealers/manufacturers.

I think that's exactly what was going on. I don't think the Chief or any of the other officers had anything to do with Steve's death though. I think they had an arrangement with the local drug figures, one that they found pretty comfortable.

When it came to Steve pissing off the person or persons who killed him, I think whoever it was had a pretty heated conversation with the Chief and told him what he was going to do. I don't think the Chief sanctioned it - from the segment, even though he came off as slightly smug, he didn't strike me as a guy with a strong backbone.

The Chief probably just accepted it as part of the "price of doing business" (as callous as that sounds) and then his other officers laid low in the hopes that attention/suspicion would die off.........(if one or more had attended Steve's funeral, that could've potentially given rise to calls for a deeper investigation & all sorts of attention the Chief and drug figures would not want).

*(the inconclusive autopsy results and drugs showing up in Steve's place after it was searched seal the deal for me)

As to how it went down, I'll go with the theory put forth by Hambone2421

I just watched the Steve Sandlin segment again today and got to thinking about that random Ellender case connection with Dave Carson. Here it is, for those who don't know:

https://books.google.com/books?id=HSs0DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA35&lpg=PA35&dq=david+carson+mountainair+nm&source=bl&ots=QmwSOac5Kn&sig=ACfU3U3Lbq3ItCB7fmFHrGhIqNGgrDYNMg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwivvNuJlPzjAhUGmeAKHQljCo4Q6AEwCXoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=david%20carson%20mountainair%20nm&f=false

Personally I've never felt like Prudhomme was murdered, but I just think it's curious how there seems to be a dark cloud over Carson wherever he goes. Whether by commission or omission, it never seems coincidental.

I saw the segment again. It sickens me to here carson say that he thinks it's most likely that he committed suicide and then says if it wasn't that, it is likely that he accidently shot himself. what an A-hole. what kind of boss says something like that about someone in those circumstances?

Just saw this UM segment. This is an especially sad case; this guy was only 21 years old, had just started a new job, and had his whole life ahead of him.

Not surprised that this case hasn't been solved yet, even though this happened 30+ years ago (like some other UM cases have been). I definitely feel there was a cover-up here. It seems to me that one of two things happened:

1) Those in authority (Stephen S.'s superiors) killed him due to his over-zealousness and/or his uncovering some kind of corruption, or

2) Criminals/drug dealers killed him in retaliation for his busting them and/or someone in their organization.

No matter what happened, the "powers that be" almost certainly covered up/concealed what really occurred, and seemed to want to "sweep this under the carpet" and not investigate this as thoroughly as they should have.

I definitely don't believe that he killed himself. Again, he was young, had a gf, a new career, and his whole life ahead of him. I don't see someone in his position ending everything.

Allegedly, an officer from a neighboring jurisdiction is said to have confessed to killing Steve (UM Wiki Link (https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Steve_Sandlin?so=search) - take note of the last two paragraphs)

"Investigators also learned that a police officer from another agency had allegedly confessed to killing him. The officer allegedly said that "if he had kept his nose out of things (he'd) be better off. (Sandlin) wouldn't have died." James investigated the alleged confession, but was fired soon after. It is not known if any further follow-up occurred regarding it."

Put that together with this.......

"Five months after Steve's death, an Albuquerque police officer told investigators he had been tipped off that an officer was going to be killed by drug dealers. It is not known if the information was ever followed up on."

And the makings of a state-wide conspiracy become clear (given that the Attorney General--James Scarantino--was fired shortly after the other officer made his confession). The only question (in my mind) is how much Chief Carson and the other Mountainair officers there knew about it.

Looks like the PD renamed the building after Steve when it was rebuilt by a fire. His dad spoke at the dedication.

https://edgewood.news/mountainair-dedicates-station-to-fallen-officer-stephen-sandlin/

Just watched this case again and I really couldn't find too many old posts about this segment. It's very annoying and disturbing, especially since he was only 21 yrs. old. I wish there was more info on the net about this case. I did find this link: http://www.odmp.org/officer/11746-patrolman-stephen-a.-sandlin
says he was survived by his son and gf? I didn't know he had a son, that's interesting and I wonder why they didn't mention that, or I just missed it.

Not sure if anyone has pointed this out yet or not, but in the link above there is a post from someone claiming to be Carson's stepson saying he got away with murder. Just thought I'd pass it along.

an article I came across today when looking up Sandlin. very sad. I never knew that he had a son?

https://citydesk.org/2024/fresh-eyes-and-new-technology-digging-into-the-cold-case-killing-of-a-rookie-cop-in-mountainair/

Not convinced this was murder.

As crazy as it sounds, before I found out his death was ruled a homicide, I actually agreed with Carson that it was most likely an accident. Steve was 21, and was described by everyone as extremely gung-ho, and I thought it seemed plausible that he was messing around with his gun during some down time. Now I can see how bunk it is.



There's no doubt that's what happened. It's the only thing that would make sense considering the drugs were planted in Steve's house.

Messing around with his gun during down time? Police officers wouldn't do that. They'd probably get a rip, besides. That was so insulting.

Not convinced this was murder.

I'm definitely not convinced that he killed himself by accident. I actually think that when you consider that the authorities took a 180 after the fact and changed their investigation stance it really lends me and many others to believe that he was indeed killed and the initial investigation at best bungled. at worst covered up.

I'm definitely not convinced that he killed himself by accident. I actually think that when you consider that the authorities took a 180 after the fact and changed their investigation stance it really lends me and many others to believe that he was indeed killed and the initial investigation at best bungled. at worst covered up.

I wouldn't say an accident is the most likely scenario, but since his mother admitted she could see him being careless handling a gun a few years prior, I wouldn't see it as less likely than murder.

It wouldn't be the first time authorities changed their stance on a case due to pressure (by the family or the public). Sometimes they don't even bother re-opening the investigation because privately their opinion differs. As an outsider it seemed quite a bit of local politics were involved which might've led to the reassessment.

I wouldn't say an accident is the most likely scenario, but since his mother admitted she could see him being careless handling a gun a few years prior, I wouldn't see it as less likely than murder.

It wouldn't be the first time authorities changed their stance on a case due to pressure (by the family or the public). Sometimes they don't even bother re-opening the investigation because privately their opinion differs. As an outsider it seemed quite a bit of local politics were involved which might've led to the reassessment.

In my opinion there is an unexplained death that lends two scenarios. one is accidental shooting oneself or the other being murder. I don't know the stats, but I imagine that officer self inflicted accidental shooting are more rare than officer murders. so I go with the latter being far more probable.

You make a good point about the pressure of reopening the case. especially with the UM segment. I would also counter that for many years it seemed as if that pressure did nothing in regards to the original department that investigated the death. Only until many years later did it seem that the credibility of the department was finally investigated which calls into question if Steven ever got a fair assessment of his death.

I think any scenario would be rare under the circumstances of this particular case, be it an accident or foul play. That's why I think a possible suicide should not be dismissed, especially considering his attitude change and disappointment with his new job.

I think any scenario would be rare under the circumstances of this particular case, be it an accident or foul play. That's why I think a possible suicide should not be dismissed, especially considering his attitude change and disappointment with his new job.

I don't see that at all. but I guess it's not impossible.