Sheriff: Evidence Indicates Banker Killed Himself
All evidence still indicates that bank CEO David Widlak shot and killed himself. That's according to Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackle, who spent about an hour, Monday afternoon, explaining to reporters just how investigators reached the conclusion that the missing banker self-inflicted the gunshot wound found at the base of his neck.
However, the case remains open.
"We still can't say with certainty -- because I don't know that any one of us... no one was a witness to it. None of us can actually say, definitively, that he actually committed suicide," Hackle said.
"So, it leads us to continue, by leaving the investigation open, for any other possibility that might come our way," he said.
Widlak's body was discovered floating in a lake in Harrison Township on October 17, one month after he disappeared. The case caused controversy when the Macomb County medical examiner missed a bullet wound discovered when Widlak's family ordered a second autopsy.
Hackel said there's been a lot of misinformation floating around, concerning the trajectory of the gunshot. The Sheriff says that yes, according to forensic evidence, it is in fact possible that Widlak pulled the trigger himself.
WWJ's Mike Campbell reports that Hackel shared some new information about the case. Hackel said Widlak took time to erase the GPS in his car -- something officials say was not accidental. He also cleared some date from his iPad and work computer, shortly before he died.
Last month, Widlak's family hired a private lawyer to investigate the shooting. Todd Flood, a former prosecutor who heads up a Royal Oak-based firm, told the Detroit News he believes Widlak was murdered and that it is "highly unlikely" the 62-year-old Grosse Pointe Farms resident committed suicide.
Widlak was the chief executive of Community Central Bank based in Mount Clemens.
