6-12-2007 Maryland:
FROSTBURG, Md. — A longtime Frostburg State University foreign-languages professor charged with possessing child pornography apparently committed suicide days before he was scheduled to stand trial.
Officers were called to the home of MacGregor O’Brien, 57, after a family member found him unconscious about 3:20 p.m. Monday in an idling car in the home’s garage, police said.
Plastic tubing had been taped to the exhaust and run through one of the car’s windows and the doors on the vehicle and garage were closed. O’Brien also left several notes, police said.
Investigators said foul play was not suspected. O’Brien’s body was being sent to the Maryland State Medical Examiner’s Office in Baltimore for autopsy.
O’Brien, 57, of Frostburg, faced 13 counts of possessing child porn, according to court documents. His trial was scheduled to begin later this week. ..more.. by The Daily Times
3 comments:
MacGregor O'Brien was the professor who helped fuel my passion for languages; a passion that was my only link at a very lonely time in my life.
Here it is some years later and I was trying to find his address to let him know that I recently received an MA in languages and would be continuing on to get a PhD in this field that he and I both love so much.
I was so saddened to read the articles about his arrest and suicide.
Since he committed suicide we really do not know if he was a sex offender or not.He was South American by birth.Considering the emphasis Latins place on personal dignity and the fact that a person's reputation affects their families and carries much more weight than it does in this country,I submit that regardless of guilt/non-guilt he would have killed himself to avoid the shame of even having his name remotely linked with child pornography.
I pray for the children whose photos were found, I pray for all pedophilia victims (hopefully there are none in this case), I pray for MacGregor's family and friends, and I also pray for MacGregor's soul.
Blessings,
CM (the only reason I don't put my name is to limit internet traces)
I had a similar experience with MacGregor. I knew him when I was in high school and as a faculty member at the University when I was studying foreign languages. It's easy to associate suicide with guilt, but in many cultures it's a way of preserving the honor of the family in the face of shameful accusations regardless of wrongdoing.
I met Mac when he was a young kid. I was a friend of MacGregor's older brother and stayed with his family in Arequipa, Peru. He was a great kid and came from a great family. I don't care what he was accused of, the world will miss him.
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