Body of IRS agent found with self-inflicted wound

Published: January 17, 2008 | Author: Krystina Orozco
Total Views: 1170 | Philippine News

SAN FRANCISCO -- Internal Revenue Service agent Veronica Ruiz – missing since Dec. 3, 2007 -- had killed herself, according to a report by the Marin County coroner’s office. The report said the body was found with an apparent “self-inflicted gunshot to the head.”

The body was found Jan. 13 by the Marin County search and rescue team in an area called the Slide Gulch Ravine, just south of the Hookooekoo trail of Mount Tamalpias. The hundreds of volunteers missed the body because it was found under a pile of shrubs and trees.

“I don’t think she intentionally planned it this way,” Robert Voigt, boyfriend of Veronica, told a press conference Wednesday, Jan 16.Initial reports said Veronica was distraught over a breakup and went on a long hike to clear her mind. She was never found since. Sister Maricris said the breakup was not the only reason.

“The breakup was a mutual decision,” she told reporters in the same press conference. “It was a combination of other pressures like work and family.”

She added that Robert remains a good friend of the family and has been helpful and very responsive during the search process. Veronica’s body was found beside her IRS-issued .40 caliber gun along with her U.S. Treasury department photo ID found in her purse.

“The search and rescue team that found the body found her in a place that would not have been seen from the normal trails,” Lt. Doug Pittman of Marin County Sheriff’s Department told the San Francisco Chronicle.

“Really right now, the family and everybody are just thankful that we found her, and its going to bring a lot of closure and peace to the family, “Voigt said. Maricris said they are planning a private memorial for close friends and family members. She said the memorial would not be open to the media.

She also said the family is looking to set up a foundation under her sister’s name as an advocate for people contemplating or on the verge of suicide. “There’s no history of depression here and no signs,” she said.

However, she indicated that having access to a gun may have tipped Veronica’s decision to end her life. “Don’t have a firearm on you,” she said, when asked if there were any lessons learned to this family tragedy.