Investigative Reporter Finds Holes In Official Finding Of Murder-Suicide In California Death of 9/11 Author

Phillip Marshall and his children

The 9/11 author who was found dead in his California home earlier this month was right-handed, but authorities determined that he shot himself in the left side of the head, a prominent investigative journalist reports.

The bodies of Phillip Marshall, his two children, and the family dog were found on February 2, and officials quickly determined it was a murder-suicide. But the Washington, D.C.-based Wayne Madsen Report (WMR) has found evidence that contradicts the official finding. WMR reports that Marshall might have possessed something in his Murphys, California, home that prompted someone to commit murder. Also, the community in Calaveras County is pushing for the sheriff's office to conduct a more thorough investigation.

Marshall was the author of several books that questioned the official story of 9/11. His most recent work, The Big Bamboozle: 9/11 and the War on Terror was released in 2012. But WMR reports that Marshall was working on a new book, and that might have led to his death.

Wayne Madsen's reporting is available by subscription at his Web site, but we have received permission to quote from his work on the Marshall case. Writes Madsen:

It is known that Marshall was working on a fourth book. Marshall told a close friend shortly before his death: "You're not going to believe the stuff I'm going to have in the next book."

Forensics of the case do not seem to add up to murder-suicide--and simple logistics also raise troubling questions. Reports Madsen:

WMR has obtained exclusive evidence that 9/11 analysis author Philip Marshall was right-handed. The Calaveras County Sheriff's Department quickly concluded that Marshall shot his two children, his dog, and himself in the left side of his head with a 9 mm Glock.

Whoever killed Marshall may have been tracking his daily routine. During the weekdays, Marshall's son Alex and daughter Macaila, and their dog "Suki," stayed with Marshall's estranged wife Sean at a condominium that Phil Marshall rented for his wife in the town of Angels Camp. The town is closer to the Bret Harte High School in nearby San Andreas than is the more remote subdivision of Forest Meadows outside of Murphys.

On weekends, however, the children stayed with Marshall at his home in Forest Meadows. But during the last week of January, Marshall's estranged wife was in Turkey on a trip paid for by Marshall to help his soon-to-be ex-wife establish an import business specializing in Turkish saffron, scented soaps, and linen. If Marshall was targeted during the weekday, the assailants may have been unaware of the presence of Marshall's children on a Thursday night (January 31) at the Forest Meadows home. Surprised by the presence of the children, they were shot, along with the noisy Shih-tzu.

What might have been in the Marshall home--or what did someone think was in the home? That might be the central question of the case, and Madsen examines it:

After WMR investigated the area around the Marshall home on February 13 and discovered a number of empty banker's boxes at the front door, we were informed that later that evening, someone broke into the house via a sliding door at the rear of the home in the gated community of Forest Meadows.

The next day, two family members and a friend of Marshall's estranged wife reportedly entered the home and rifled through drawers and boxes of papers in the garage in search of something. Forest Meadows Homeowners Association president David Turner was alerted to their presence and told them they had no permission to enter the premises. Turner also remarked that they "were making quite a mess." According to a neighbor, the estranged in-laws claimed they were looking for bills that had to be paid. It is known that Marshall was working on a fourth book. Marshall told a close friend shortly before his death: "You're not going to believe the stuff I'm going to have in the next book."

Marshall's friends are not sure what happened to his computer, with some reporting it is being held by the Sheriff's office and others claiming it is in the possession of Marshall's estranged wife. WMR has obtained a web posting from an in-law of Marshall's that states that in dealing with members of the press, high school friends of Marshall's children are to answer: ". . . this is a result of a DIAGNOSED (caps in original) mentally ill person getting their hands on a gun." There is no record of Marshall being diagnosed with a mental illness. He had only been treated temporarily in the past for depression.

Marshall apparently was well known and well liked in the community, and his friends are pushing for answers:

WMR has been contacted by a number of Calaveras County residents who have expressed outrage over the unprofessional and quick investigation by Calaveras County Sheriff Gary Kuntz of the shooting deaths of 9/11 analysis author Philip Marshall, his two teenage children -- Alex and Macaila -- and the family dog.

Kuntz, a native of North Dakota who enjoys dancing to German music, is loosely affiliated with a group of Western states' sheriffs called "county supremacists," offshoots of the Western state sheriffs-led "Sagebrush Rebellion" of the 1970s and 80s. One Calaveras County resident said many believed Kuntz to be a "prepper" and "truther." Prepper is the slang term for people who are prepared for everything from Armageddon to an economic collapse. "Truther" is a pejorative term for those who believe the government hid important facts about the 9/11 attack.

As news spreads around the county about the quick conclusion by Kuntz that Marshall shot his two children, his dog, and then himself with a 9 mm Glock, for which Marshall previously claimed he did not possess ammunition, other details about the case are beginning to show that the Sheriff's Department is, as local critics claim, incompetent. For example, Marshall was shot through the left side of his head. However, people who knew Marshall have come forward claiming that they knew the retired United Airlines pilot to be right-handed. They saw him throw baseballs and footballs with his right hand and one said he did not know Marshall to be ambidextrous but strictly right-handed.