Boston University student Patrick Doherty, who was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound last month near his hometown in Alaska, was allegedly threatened by police the day before his death to either testify against a lifelong friend or face felony charges.
Police questioned Doherty for information about a close friend who had allegedly stolen money from another person’s bank account, the family said they were told by the chief of police a few days after Doherty’s death. Doherty, 19, died June 17 on a beach near his hometown of Ketchikan, Alaska.
‘We met with the police chief and he told us [Doherty] was interviewed, and we’re going, ‘You mean to tell us you interview him, and less than 24 hours later he kills himself and you don’t think there’s a link?” Doherty’s mother Susan said.
Ketchikan Chief of Police Edward Talik refused to comment.
Doherty had witnessed his friend steal money only once, but the friend went on to later allegedly steal upwards of $1,500 from the same bank account, the family said they were told. Police told Doherty if he did not testify against his friend, he would be charged with all of the withdrawals, a felony charge, the family said.
Torn between betraying his friend and facing felony charges, something Doherty believed would ruin his life and shame his family, Doherty instead made the decision to end his life, Doherty’s father Philip said. The family believes Doherty was never told that a conviction, however unlikely, would result only in a slap on the wrist, given Doherty’s clean record and high standing in the community, he said.
With the help of a lawyer, the family is attempting to gain access to the video recording of Doherty’s interview, as well as looking into if police violated Doherty’s civil rights, Philip said.
Doherty, who had returned home to Alaska for the summer after his first year at BU, was usually a happy person and was not depressed, Susan said.
‘It just doesn’t make sense,’ she said. ‘I mean, he was planning his future. He had just gone and got his clothes for fishing. Just got a year’s supply of contacts. He ate dinner with us the night before.’
‘He considered this friend his brother, and there was no way [Doherty could testify against him],’ she said.
The morning he was found dead, Doherty sent a text message to a friend, telling him to contact police, according to state troopers.
The message, which said Doherty was below his vehicle, led police to believe he had overturned his car and become trapped beneath it, according to state troopers. However, officials failed to locate a car crash and later discovered Doherty’s body on the beach.
Doherty, who was a biochemistry major, would have entered his sophomore year at BU in the fall.
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