Review launched into death of Hunter S Thompson
A review into the death investigaion of legendary gonzo journalist Hunter S Thompson is set to be opened.
Thompson, the author behind beloved books such as Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Hell’s Angels, died, aged 67, due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home in Woody Creek, Colorado, on February 20th, 2005.
Now, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation has opened a case review into the death investigation it held in 2005. However, they have also stated that this isn’t due to new evidence coming to light. The local authority have chosen to go ahead with the review following a request from the author’s widow, Anita Thompson.
Pitkin County Sheriff Michael Buglione said of the reasoning for re-opening an investigation into Thompson’s death: “We understand the profound impact Hunter S. Thompson had on this community and beyond.”
He continued, “By bringing in an outside agency for a fresh look, we hope to provide a definitive and transparent review that may offer peace of mind to his family and the public.”
At the time of Thompson’s death in 2005, the coroner ruled against ordering a toxicology report, claiming (per USA Today) that drugs were “incidental to the cause of death.” The coroner explained, “It doesn’t matter if there were drugs in his system; it had nothing to do with the manner of his death.”
Following his passing, Anita explained to Aspen Daily News how she was on the phone to her husband when he pulled the trigger, sharing to the publication, “I was on the phone with him, he set the receiver down and he did it. I heard the clicking of the gun.”
She also said in the same interview, which was conducted just days after his death, “This is a triumph of his, not a desperate, tragic failure. He lived a beautiful life and he lived it on his own terms, all the way from the very beginning to the very end.”
There is currently no timeline on when the review is expected to conclude.
