Despite the state medical examiner's official ruling that Robert Lee Clay's death was a suicide, friends of the prominent businessman say they will continue their efforts to show that he might have been murdered.
A cash reward posted last month by Clay's associates has been increased to $60,000 for information about the May 16 fatal shooting of Clay, 58, whose daughter found his body in his Reservoir Hill office. In addition, they are hiring a forensic scientist to review the medical examiner's investigation.
"There's not a person who knows Robert Clay who believes in their heart of hearts that this was a suicide," said state Del. Jill P. Carter, a longtime friend of Clay. "There was a rush to judgment on suicide."
But Chief Medical Examiner David Fowler is trying to dispel suspicions about the investigation and the belief that Clay was murdered.
Fowler acknowledges that he has heard speculation that the minority business pioneer died of more than one gunshot wound to the head, a theory that has fueled suspicion that Clay did not shoot himself. Fowler says that his report, released Thursday, showed that there were two head wounds - an entrance and an exit wound - caused by one bullet.
"There were two holes, but only one bullet," said Fowler, whose state office operates independently of any city agency, including the Baltimore Police Department.
Clay's friends, however, say they do not believe he was capable of killing himself. They say the delay in concluding how he died suggests a sloppy police investigation.
"We don't believe it was suicide," said Pless Jones Sr., a contractor and friend of Clay's.
The police have not released records of the Clay investigation and say they typically do not in suicide cases.
Fowler says his office's conclusion took more than a month because of several factors that are normal for such investigations. The police were conducting DNA and other tests to determine whether Clay was alone in his office, and medical examiner investigators also followed up Clay's family's suspicions that he was killed.
"We were waiting to get back all of the lab testing that was being performed on this case," Fowler said. "This was a very careful and thorough investigation. It would have been negligent of us not to investigate the family's suspicions."
"None of the evidence supports anyone else being present at the time" of Clay's death, he said.
