In his final moments, publisher and philanthropist Philip Merrill wrapped an anchor around his ankle, sat on the side of his boat and shot himself under the chin with a shotgun, his autopsy report says.
The autopsy report was released Wednesday to The Examiner by Maryland?s Chief Medical Examiner.
Tom Marquardt, executive editor of The Capital, which Merrill published, and a spokesman for the Merrill family, said the report is not shocking to the family, whowould “rather not have [Merrill?s suicide] publicized anymore.”
“I don?t think there is anything there that is surprising,” Marquardt said.
Merrill suffered from a “large, gaping entry wound beneath the chin and extending into the anterior portion of the neck,” the report says.
Assistant Medical Examiner J. Laron Locke writes that multiple lead fragments were found in Merrill?s skull. Merrill was found with a rope attached to a 13-pound anchor wrapped around his left ankle. Locke also said there was “alcohol detected on analysis” of the body, but that it “may be related to decomposition.”
Merrill?s boat was found abandoned June 10 near Breezy Point in Calvert County. He had gone sailing for the day and never returned, his family reported.
After a nine-day search, Merrill?s body was found by a recreational boater about one mile offshore from Poplar Island in Talbot County.
In a statement provided to the media, Merrill?s family said they had noticed a shift in Merrill?s mood in the weeks leading up to his death.
“We were concerned for his welfare but never imagined that he would consider taking his own life,” the statement reads.
According to the Maryland Natural Resource Police, Merrill had purchased a 12-gauge, pump-action shotgun and ammunition the week of his disappearance.
