Famed Attorney, Jack Deegan, Found Dead

According to police, celebrated attorney, Jack Deegan, was found dead in his apartment Monday morning by his assistant, Wayne Durham.

The police report further stated that Durham visited Mr. Deegan's apartment at 8:42 am to drive him to the Los Angeles Metropolitan Courthouse for a 10 am criminal trial. When Mr. Deegan failed to answer a knock on the door, Durham noticed it was unlocked and proceeded to enter the apartment. After calling out to the lawyer several times with no reply, he approached the bedroom where he found Mr. Deegan lying face-down on a blood-stained white bedsheet. After taking measured skill in turning the body over, Mr. Durham noticed a single bullet entry wound to the chest. Only after he confirmed the identity of the victim did he call 911.

Not only was Jack Deegan a successful defense attorney, but he was a television celebrity as well, often appearing on national news as a legal analyst and political commentator. But perhaps, his most noteworthy claim to fame was his relentless defense of Brockton Hughes, who was on trial for the murder of Rebecca Lamont, famous actress and wife of then-mayor, Charles Lamont, in 1997. Hughes is currently serving a life sentence on a separate murder charge.

When the police arrived at the apartment, they performed a careful investigation of the bedroom. Although the officers did not find a gun at first, they thought the case to be a murder until one of the policemen noticed a tiny bloodstain on the nightstand drawer inside of which they discovered a pistol. Upon closer examination, one of the policemen found small traces of gunshot residue and a smoky odor at the tip of the gun barrel. At present, no one was able to determine if the death was a suicide or a murder. Detectives would need to uncover further evidence before they could reach any conclusion.

When asked about the odd circumstances of the gun's location, the officer in charge replied, "As of now, we are not able to offer any answers concerning the location of the firearm or its possible connection with the death."

The situation begged two mutually exclusive questions. First, if someone had murdered Mr. Deegan, why did the assailant place the murder weapon, a key piece of evidence, in the nightstand next to the deceased? Second, if Mr. Deegan committed suicide, as one of the officers suggested, how did he open the drawer, place the gun in the drawer, and close the drawer after mortally shooting himself in the chest? It is noteworthy that Mr. Deegan had the firearm registered in his name. If the crime was murder, the perpetrator might have staged the scene to look like a suicide. But why place the gun in the drawer? Durham's claim that he found the apartment door unlocked was also perplexing. The officer in charge would only state that Durham was "a person of interest" when asked if he was a murder suspect.

Story and Cover Illustration Copyright © 2021 by Michael DeFrancesco