Tony Lombardi

[saywhat]

Originally Posted by wiseguy182

No it's not obvious.

The thing is, authorities have ruled deaths in the wrong category before. I literally just watched an episode of Cold Case Files where the authorities and the coroner labeled a death as 'natural', until the person performing the autopsy noticed strangulation marks on the victim's death and it was later proved a homicide. My point is, the authorities are wrong sometimes.

Yes, sometimes the authorities are wrong, or flat out incompetent or corrupt. We have seen some examples of shockingly poor or corrupt law enforcement work presented on UM.

That said, the authorities in this case would have to be unbelievably incompetent to not look at this as a possible homicide if the gun came from outside the house. The segment said that the local police, the County Coroner, the Sheriff's Department, and the District Attorney believe it was a suicide. Sure, all four agencies could be wrong, but I believe that there must be evidence we are not privy to which further suggests that this was a suicide; for instance, evidence that the gun belonged to Tony or one of the Lombardis.

[rhzunam]

Originally Posted by wiseguy182

well there you go again....

It's a pretty well known fact that UM leaves out three key pieces of information out of a segment. It's mentioned on the Live from the Telecenter broadcast, for starters. They do it to determine whether a tip is a good or not.

It doesn't make any sense for UM to leave out that he gun isn't his. This isn't a police investigation like other cases, the Police had already determined it was a suicide. So why would the family and UM leave that for a tip, if there isn't an investigation by the police? And you mean that they would leave out the key piece for their case of suicide by totally weak facts like a noise being heard?

[wiseguy182]

Originally Posted by rhzunam

It doesn't make any sense for UM to leave out that he gun isn't his. This isn't a police investigation like other cases, the Police had already determined it was a suicide. So why would the family and UM leave that for a tip, if there isn't an investigation by the police? And you mean that they would leave out the key piece for their case of suicide by totally weak facts like a noise being heard?

Your first sentence doesn't make sense. Proofread please.

As for what pieces of evidence were left out, how the hell would I know what they left out? They were LEFT OUT, so I don't know what they are. They already talked about the noise in the segment, so that wasn't one of the things left out.

Back to school for you.

[TheCars1986]

Originally Posted by wiseguy182

Your first sentence doesn't make sense. Proofread please.

As for what pieces of evidence were left out, how the hell would I know what they left out? They were LEFT OUT, so I don't know what they are. They already talked about the noise in the segment, so that wasn't one of the things left out.

Back to school for you.

Condescending much?

[rhzunam]

Originally Posted by wiseguy182

Your first sentence doesn't make sense. Proofread please.

As for what pieces of evidence were left out, how the hell would I know what they left out? They were LEFT OUT, so I don't know what they are. They already talked about the noise in the segment, so that wasn't one of the things left out.

Back to school for you.

I forgot to add the. Still doesn't change the fact that your argument is nonsense. The police has no investigation going on. There is no need for UM to leave out stuff and if they did, it wouldn't be the key evidence to open up the investigation for totally weak arguments like the noise being heard. Talk about reaching.

[liebchen77]

I just watched this segment and had some thoughts:

There was no mention of what part of Tony's head and face were injured in the gunshot--he may have put the gun in his mouth, temple or forehead, or beneath his chin. You can break your jaw with a gunshot injury--so this might not have been the result of an altercation. Also, the medical examiner would have been able to tell if the broken jaw occurred before or after death.

I've read here that "a DUI is not a reason for suicide." Maybe not, but getting in legal trouble due to alcohol abuse or addiction is a sign that you have a problem with alcohol. Alcohol is a depressant, so if Tony was using alcohol to medicate depression, it can snowball.

There was no sign of a break-in, so did Tony let in a murderer, then strip down naked?

The demonstration by his mother of how the bullet trajectory was impossible because when she leaned on the pillows, they didn't sink down low enough is really not helpful since a man has considerably more weight & mass in the upper body.

The gun had to belong to Tony or his family--otherwise the segment would have had info about testing & tracking down the owner.

The Mom's version is that someone who hated Tony and wanted to kill him was somehow let into the house while Tony was nude, or was present when he took his clothes off & got into bed. They didn't bring a gun, but conveniently found the family's gun to kill him.

Then, even though there was nobody home to hear the gunshot and they would have had time to flee at that logical point, they instead turned off the light and waited for hours with a corpse, only to turn the light ON before fleeing with the mother being right in the next room.

His mother is devastated by the loss of her son. It's understandable that she might make up some aspects in order to force the investigators to make sure that he wasn't murdered. A lot of family members find it impossible to believe that they may have missed huge signs that a family member is depressed and suicidal--they may feel that they had such a close relationship that they would "know" if there was a problem. That's just not the case--especially with men who may tend to cover up depression or sadness and don't talk about their problems due to seeming weak.

It's possible that his mother missed signs that her son was depressed and in trouble and feels so guilty about it she is unable to accept the possibility of suicide.

[MegtheEgg86]

Originally Posted by liebchen77

I just watched this segment and had some thoughts:

There was no mention of what part of Tony's head and face were injured in the gunshot--he may have put the gun in his mouth, temple or forehead, or beneath his chin. You can break your jaw with a gunshot injury--so this might not have been the result of an altercation. Also, the medical examiner would have been able to tell if the broken jaw occurred before or after death.

I've read here that "a DUI is not a reason for suicide." Maybe not, but getting in legal trouble due to alcohol abuse or addiction is a sign that you have a problem with alcohol. Alcohol is a depressant, so if Tony was using alcohol to medicate depression, it can snowball.

There was no sign of a break-in, so did Tony let in a murderer, then strip down naked?

The demonstration by his mother of how the bullet trajectory was impossible because when she leaned on the pillows, they didn't sink down low enough is really not helpful since a man has considerably more weight & mass in the upper body.

The gun had to belong to Tony or his family--otherwise the segment would have had info about testing & tracking down the owner.

The Mom's version is that someone who hated Tony and wanted to kill him was somehow let into the house while Tony was nude, or was present when he took his clothes off & got into bed. They didn't bring a gun, but conveniently found the family's gun to kill him.

Then, even though there was nobody home to hear the gunshot and they would have had time to flee at that logical point, they instead turned off the light and waited for hours with a corpse, only to turn the light ON before fleeing with the mother being right in the next room.

His mother is devastated by the loss of her son. It's understandable that she might make up some aspects in order to force the investigators to make sure that he wasn't murdered. A lot of family members find it impossible to believe that they may have missed huge signs that a family member is depressed and suicidal--they may feel that they had such a close relationship that they would "know" if there was a problem. That's just not the case--especially with men who may tend to cover up depression or sadness and don't talk about their problems due to seeming weak.

It's possible that his mother missed signs that her son was depressed and in trouble and feels so guilty about it she is unable to accept the possibility of suicide.

Excellent post, liebchen.

[liebchen77]

Thank you, Meg! I have watched UM since the very beginning in the 90's & I love this board! Lot's off great info & people here.

[TheCars1986]

I haven't seen the segment in awhile, but IIRC, it's only hinted at that Lombardi was a ladies man, and the theory was one or more jealous boyfriends could have gotten angered enough to want him dead. But unlike the Tommy Burkett case (another murder vs. suicide case), Burkett did actually have a history of harassment, and his parents did find some possible suspects at his school. There's none of that in the Lombardi case. There was a neighbor who saw a man screaming at Tony from a white pickup truck. But this could be meaningless. It could have been over a traffic dispute for all we know. The only other hint at someone wanting Tony dead was the voice mail that his father heard telling Tony to stay away from the caller's girlfriend, and that he had a gun. But all of these things are meaningless, IMO. It all falls back to the gun used in Tony's death. If it was determined that the gun came from the Lombardi residence, that leaves no question that it was a suicide. No one shows up to murder someone (armed or not) and then rely on finding a weapon in the house before going through with the murder.

[MegtheEgg86]

Originally Posted by TheCars1986

It all falls back to the gun used in Tony's death. If it was determined that the gun came from the Lombardi residence, that leaves no question that it was a suicide. No one shows up to murder someone (armed or not) and then rely on finding a weapon in the house before going through with the murder.

About the only way I could see someone using someone else's firearm is if the intruder came in with another, perhaps less desirable weapon such as a knife or a baseball bat. If Lombardi pulled the handgun and the assailant was able to wrest it from his grasp, I think it's plausible he could have turned it on Lombardi.

However (BIG however), there was never any information given on prints on the weapon--or much information about the weapon at all, really. If there were prints on that handgun that couldn't be matched to anyone in the home, I can't imagine UM (or Mrs. Lombardi) failing to scream that from the mountaintops.

To put it colloquially, I think he got too many worries ahead of him, personally. I think he committed suicide. I've never felt differently.

[TheCars1986]

Originally Posted by MegtheEgg86

About the only way I could see someone using someone else's firearm is if the intruder came in with another, perhaps less desirable weapon such as a knife or a baseball bat. If Lombardi pulled the handgun and the assailant was able to wrest it from his grasp, I think it's plausible he could have turned it on Lombardi.

However (BIG however), there was never any information given on prints on the weapon--or much information about the weapon at all, really. If there were prints on that handgun that couldn't be matched to anyone in the home, I can't imagine UM (or Mrs. Lombardi) failing to scream that from the mountaintops.

To put it colloquially, I think he got too many worries ahead of him, personally. I think he committed suicide. I've never felt differently.

I could definitely see a scenario of someone bringing a bat over to rough up Lombardi, and in an ensuing struggle, Lombardi goes for his gun and the other guy wrestles it away and shoots him. But IIRC, there was an absence of a struggle in the bedroom, no signs of a forced entry into the residence, and Lombardi was found naked and lying in an upright position in his bed. In addition to what you said about the fingerprints, whoever this assailant was, would have had to have waited hours around in a bedroom with a dead body for no apparent reason.

[justins5256]

I almost feel bad saying this, but did anyone else get the vibe that perhaps Tony didn't have the best relationship with his parents? The fact that his mother knocked and the door and called him "son" instead of by his name just always seemed strange to me, almost sort of impersonal.

Obviously this has nothing to do with whether Tony was murdered or not. Just an observation.

[thinwhiteduke74]

Damn! A shame I missed the Knievel-wiseguy wars a few years ago. The most unbelievable part of this segment, I gotta say, was accepting Lombardi as a ladies man with that mullet and those shirts. I was around in 1990 and, well, no.

UM has a long and well-documented history of repressing information for many reasons. The ownership of the gun bothers me. I don't think anyone on this board can say definitively he was murdered or killed himself. A man in his early twenties with a DUI who lives at home and has several girlfriends is not a problem case by any means: this is normal (and for women too, I might add). UM doesn't mention whether he suffered from depression, a disease that doesn't discriminate from ladies men with mullets charged with DUI and boring guys who go to college, marry young, and follow the rules. Because UM presented this death context-free, no one can reasonably conclude he killed himself.

However, I can't conclude he was murdered either. We're supposed to believe the mom lay in bed, heard a door open, walked to her son's room, and saw him dead? Someone was in the house while she lay watching TV? Really? That to me is more unbelievable.

So there it is. No evidence either way. Hence "unsolved mystery."

[LilMissKryssy]

I agree with the police ruling on this (which is rare on these "was it murder or suicide".) Her only arguement that he didn't commit suicide was that she didn't believe he was depressed and the "light under his door". UM doesn't always release all the personal details of the victim out of respect for the family and we don't know what else he was into. Yes, I knew a lot of people in my early 20s that have received a DWI. I also knew half of those people who I knew who got DWIs had issues with heavy binge drinking and recreational drug use. I'm not saying I know for a fact Tony did because obviously I don't but if he did that can greatly effect ones impulses and emotions. Everyone's different. I think for whatever reason, maybe the DWI set him over the edge, he tragically took his own life.

[TheResearcher]

I really like this UM segment. One of the most balanced they ever made with equal time given to the police and mother theory.

That said, I think Tony was murdered. There is much more motive for murder than suicide.