Michael Marin's Cyanide Stash Made It Into His Mouth, Medical Examiner Confirms

By Matthew Hendley Fri., Jul. 27 2012 at 9:28 AM

See also: Burning Man: Attorney Says He Escaped His Blazing Home Using Scuba Gear
See also: Michael Marin, "Burning Man," May Have Committed Suicide in the Courtroom

Fox 10

That's definitely a cyanide pill on its way into Michael Marin's system.

The Maricopa County medical examiner's office confirmed the expected this morning -- "Burning Man" Michael Marin definitely ingested some of the cyanide that was later found in his car.

Marin collapsed in the courtroom a few minutes after he was declared guilty of burning down his Biltmore Estates mansion, and was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

It was pretty clear he popped something in his mouth after the verdict was read, and Maricopa County Sheriff's Office investigators later found a canister of sodium cyanide in his car.

MCSO said Marin ordered a canister of sodium cyanide off the Internet in 2011, before the trial, and had it sent by Fed-Ex straight to his doorstep.

After Marin died, his son found an email his father had sent him, saying to check his car -- which he had left in Mesa -- if things didn't go his way in court.

Marin's family got this information over to MCSO, and investigators found the clearly labeled canister of cyanide in his car.

Tags:

arson, burning man, cyanide, maricopa county medical examiner, maricopa county sheriff's office, maricopa county superior court, michael marin, sodium cyanide

We Recommend

DonkeyHotay topcommenter

Imagine the millions of $$$ that could be saved annually if cyanide cocktails were offered at all criminal trials.

kittyc

1 Like

Sad. Whatever he may or may not have done is irrelevant. The man obviously was extremely mentally distraught and full of hopelessness that he would take his own life. Pray for him and his family.

DonkeyHotay topcommenter

@kittyc

He's dead.

How will praying to an imaginary sky-daddy help him?

davelog

4 Like

@kittyc Quality of life is far more important than quantity of life. He was facing certain hard time in the slammer. Can't say I wouldn't at least entertain the same path, given the same circumstances.

In Escape From New York, prisoners were given the option of euthanasia before entering the prison (never to be released). I'd wager if that was a legitimate option in our system, a LOT of people would take it.

LegitQuestions

2 Like

Having a tough time finding any empathy or sympathy for this guy or his situation. With all the shit going in the world and the innocent victims that are injured, maimed and killed through no fault of their own (think Aurora, CO), this guy doesn't rise even close to the top of the list.

SeedyWard

1 Like

@LegitQuestions He's dead. Why would one have sympathy with a corpse, a dead piece of rotting flash? I think Mr. Marin made a perfectly rational decision, to not suffer the slings and arrows any further.