Michael Marin was the very image of a powerhouse lawyer: a Yale Law School graduate who went on to find success as a Wall Street trader who climbed Mount Everest, collected valuable art works and supported charities. The bon vivant seemed to be living the life of legend until he was charged with burning down his own Biltmore Estates mansion in Arizona. Shortly after being convicted of arson in court, Marin was seen putting something in his mouth. He promptly collapsed and died.
The terrible scene was the end of a bizarre downward spiral that prosecutors insist was caused by Marin’s growing debts. Marin was in the news when he made a remarkable escape from his burning mansion by donning scuba gear to avoid smoke inhalation and climbing down a rope ladder. Investigators were suspicious and eventually accused him of setting numerous fires before setting up the daring exit.
Marin denied that allegations and insisted “One, you don’t set fire to something that you’re in and then go trap yourself upstairs to make a more dramatic exit. The second thing, if you bore into my finances, this was the worst thing that could have happened to me. Not only did I not have any incentive personally, I totally had a counter-incentive. The Phoenix Fire Department people will figure out what they figure out.”
The fire destroyed the 10,766 square foot property, including a four-car garage and about 6,600 square feet of living space. Marin, 53, was the father of four and grandfather of two (with a third on the way).
Marin often discussed his adventures in jungles and mountains, saying “I’m very calm under pressure, and I’ve certainly been tested in that way.” Marin often discussed how he scaled six of the world’s seven tallest mountains. He also was an art collector who had original Picassos.
He certainly showed remarkable composure in the process of poisoning himself — hiding the fact of his poisoning to the last minute.
It is a remarkably sad end to someone who had obvious talent and success in life. His finances had clearly evaporated. In 2008, he had $900,000 in the bank. A year later he had only $50 left in the account with a monthly mortgage payment on the mansion of $17,250 and an upcoming balloon payment of $2.3 million. He also owed another $2,500 a month on a different home — bringing the total to roughly $20,000 a month just in mortgage with another $34,000 owed in taxes.
The fire investigator was suspicious by how readily available the scuba equipment was at the time of the fire.
Here is the video of the courtroom scene:
Source: ABC
Standing with your jaw open, your tongue hanging out, and looking stupid does little for my image.
WH Auden. He seems to be my type. Will check him out.
Engineers don’t read much poetry.
Does anybody know who, based on sales, is America’s most popular poet?
G’night all.
Wow, Leejcarroll, I hand it to you.
I hand it all to you.
Idealist, Auden was a poet. WHereas obviously the “desires of the heart” are straightforward and the mind in fact “screws them up” to their corkscrew shapes, what he said, in poetry, equals that.
The quote is, if I remember it:
The desires of the heart are as crooked as corkscrews
Not to be born is the best for man
Second best is the formal order: the dance’s pattern,
Dance while you can.
Dance, dance for the figure is easy…
etc.
Auden, who is probably among my favorite poets, was actually quite a misogynist. One of his poems, wishing various things to various people for the New Year:
“To Fascists, policemen and women,
long nights on the glaciers of fear,
and a lake full of brimstone to swim in,
and a bloody awful New Year.”
But then I understand that some of his best friends were women. Oh dear, so much to understand, so little time…
(And most misogynists can’t write a ransom note!)
you cannot thrive if first you don’t survive….
Leejcarroll,
That was one great money…..Kevin Spacy did one heck of a job……
Malisha, although not about suicide your book reminds me of The Life of David Gale (I believe that is title) where he frames himself so the state will execute him for a murder and then after theexecution truth of the lie of the murder is known.
Raff, I hate ledges and other high places too. Sounds paradoxical. I know a Marine fighter pilot who was invited to a cookout at a friend’s apartment. The friend lived on the 14th floor of an apartment building and they had the grill on the balcony. The Marine aviator refused to go out there. That is not at all unusual behavior among the pilot community. I have no idea why.
Gene, I am a believer in Occam’s Hatchet. The way I heard it, suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Occam did not mention any statistics. He may be related to rafflaw.
Malisha,
Thanks for the Auden. Worth considering. I myself, at first don’t agree with him: The desires of the heart are rather straightforward. It is only the mind that screws things up.
The CBT thought that we confuse thought with reality. And the distorted lens in the the telescope we see through. And the reflexes that disturb out motions,
But the longings are pure, I believe. Only the plan is screwed up.
Anonymously Yours 1, July 2, 2012 at 4:01 pm
I am enjoying reading the comments on this……
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As Id707 would say, don’t yump.
Otteray Scribe 1, July 2, 2012 at 11:54 am
Darren Smith is spot-on. There have been several who jumped off the Golden Gate bridge and miraculously survived. When interviewed later by mental health experts, every one of them stated they changed their minds on the way down. Unfortunately, there are no handholds or parachutes on the way down.
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The dead ones changed their minds on the way down too, it is just that they could not of themselves change their fate at that point.
The problem is not knowing we are “on the way down” prior to reaching that point of awareness.
We have so many deceitful energies going on around us all our lives that “on the way down” is usually the last thing we figure out.
At that point, further “figuring out” is usually moot in terms of what is going to happen anyway.
This happens to be true in general whether we are talking about an individual, a nation, or a civilization.
We are on the way down, we just can’t see the water of the San Francisco bay yet.
OS,
Two years ago I rode a bike across that Golden Gate Bridge. I don’t like big bridges to begin with and I was very nervous riding across it. I can’t imagine walking to the edge and jumping! Wow.
Gene H.
1, July 2, 2012 at 1:33 pm
I never forget the first lesson I ever learned about suicide.
“It’s a permanent solution to what is 99.9% of the time a temporary problem.”
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that is my thought as well…..and I have also known survivors of those who committed suicide and 100% have said that the person was depressed, or stressed, or somehow not acting like themselves….there should be so much more counselling available right now given the economic situation, the Vets returning, the damm sh*tty current state of affairs….
I am enjoying reading the comments on this……
There’s tomorrow and today. They don’t connect unless you let them. Stay where you are and handle that first.
There’s always more going on than we know from the articles.
I’m writing a book about a woman who “commits suicide” by deliberately committing a capital crime and forcing the state to “put her down” at great expense and with a lot of brou-ha-ha. Her plan is nefarious but is motivated by a kind of, “how can I do this but not make it come out a total waste?” philosophy.
“The desires of the heart are as crooked as corkscrews.”…W. H. Auden
I have to tell my story, quickly.
I had all the surgeries they could offer for my trigeminal neuralgia (a disabling and debilitating facial pain disorder known as “the suicide disease” and the “worst pain known to man”) and there were no other ops or treatments to offer me. I was advised by my psychologist, head of the pain clinic (a psychiatrist) neuroophthalmologist and some others that ‘rational suicide’ was acceptable in my case.
Because of another doctor whose behavior made me feel nuts I decided not to go ahead with the suicide. A few years later a new surgery was available that did help.
People say to me, see, you would have made such an awful decision if you had gone ahead with it. My reply is that, at the time, had I gone ahead it would have been the appropriate thing to do.
It is rare but sometimes it is the right choice. I have to wonder if there was more going on withthis man then what we know frm the articles.
I never forget the first lesson I ever learned about suicide.
“It’s a permanent solution to what is 99.9% of the time a temporary problem.”
Will there be a toxology analysis of his body? Based on the facial redness shortly after he took the pill, it looks like it was cyanide.
Darren Smith is spot-on. There have been several who jumped off the Golden Gate bridge and miraculously survived. When interviewed later by mental health experts, every one of them stated they changed their minds on the way down. Unfortunately, there are no handholds or parachutes on the way down.
Idealist. Generally suicides can trigger benefit payment in life insurance if the policy has been in effect for a few years. (depends on state / policy )
Malisha: You are right in the sense that unless it is a domestic violence situation, you can destroy your own property. Fraud does come up with regard to false insurance claims. Arson is another matter. It puts emergency responders in danger and this can be an aggravating factor in Arson convictions. I believe it is pretty strong a case of the deceased torching the home unlawfully for economic reasons.
As far as this attorney goes, I feel sorry for him in a way. I wish people could have the clairvoyance to see what is happening when the suicide is taking effect. It is usually very bad. Maybe they would be deterred. I’ve seen some very horrible examples of this.
What I used to tell people who were contemplating doing themselves in was to never put themselves in a situation for which there was no return. While the defendant in this case obviously could not unburn the house, he could even at the point of conviction begged for mercy on the court, served with good behavior his sentence, declared bankruptcy on the other debts, It could have been addressed in some manner. Eventually something will work out and be better. But to be as this man was; choking and convulsing at the point of no return, he could be begging to stop this suffering but it is too late because fate has taken hold. We should never put ourselves in this situation, if people get into a situation where they are considering doing it, always give yourself a way out if you must go to this degree.