THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 6, 1995 TAG: 9501050515
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
DATELINE: KITTY HAWK LENGTH: Short : 34 lines
Preliminary autopsy reports confirm police suspicions that George ``Jap'' Richardson took his own life, Dare County Chief Deputy Rodney Midgett said Thursday.
``The pathologist and the police are satisfied that this case was a suicide,'' Midgett said. ``The preliminary autopsy reports, which we received today, give us no reason to believe otherwise.''
Richardson, a 54-year-old Outer Banks businessman who operated four movie theater complexes from Kitty Hawk through Nags Head, died Tuesday afternoon in his Martin's Point home.
Richardson's wife found his clothed body in the bathtub with five small bullet wounds in his chest. A small-caliber semi-automatic handgun was nearby.
Since the bullets were so small, police said it is entirely conceiveable that Richardson could have kept firing at himself, even after the initial shot. The bullets would not necessarily have killed Richardson immediately, police said.
Officers will complete their investigation by testing Richardson's hands for gun powder residue, Midgett said. They expect results from that test within two weeks.
The preliminary autopsy report also showed that Richardson ``seemed to be perfectly healthy,'' Midgett said. by CNB