Evidence leads to suicide conclusion

In a report dated four months after the body of Lori Martin was found in a Longboat Key sauna, investigators wrote that a combination of crime-scene evidence, interviews about her state of mind, DNA and other scientific analysis aligned with a determination of a medical examiner that her fatal wounds were self-inflicted.

The body of Martin, 54, was discovered Jan. 23 in the women’s sauna on the property of the Harbourside Moorings clubhouse. Without elaboration, the Longboat Key Police issued a statement in April saying the death had been ruled a suicide by the medical examiner for the 12th Judicial District.

“Sometimes you have to keep things close to ensure that you don’t have any interference with the investigation and you don’t compromise the integrity of the investigation,” Longboat Key Police Chief Pete Cumming said. “My first obligation is to make sure that these results are accurate and through.”

Dr. Russell Vega, medical examiner for the 12th Judicial District, reported Martin’s cause of death was “perforations of the lung, internal jugular vein and ulnar artery, due to stab wounds to the chest, neck and forearm.” The autopsy report indicated the wounds were self-inflicted. Vega’s report details 30 wounds, classified as superficial, deep stab and incised, seven of which were stab wounds through the left forearm and eight to the left lung.

Lori Martin and her husband, David, retired GM engineers from Ohio, spent the past few years living aboard their boat and traveling. They had three sons.

Among the police investigation’s findings in the report:

• The knife used in the stabbing was determined to have come from the Martins’ boat, moored in the marina. DNA on the handle was that of Martin, with no other contributors. It was found on the floor of the sauna.
• No defensive wounds were seen, and cuts consistent with “hesitation marks” were found.
• A water bottle found nearby had only Martin’s fingerprints and only her DNA on the mouth.
• No other blood evidence was found inside the sauna, other than that of Martin. No other blood evidence was found outside of the sauna or on the inside of the sauna door, police said.
• Inside a tote bag were two medication bottles: a 600-count bottle of 25 milligram diphenhydramine pills (Benadryl), from which 50 pills could not be accounted (1.25 grams). Vega estimated Martin took between 15 and 20 of the 50 missing pills, based on autopsy findings. A 1-gram dose for an adult is cause for hospitalization, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. An empty 30-count bottle of the prescription blood-pressure medication Losartan, which the report states cannot be detected in the blood, was also found. It was filled Jan. 19 at a Sam’s Club on Cattlemen Road in Sarasota.
• A review of the Sam’s Club video system showed Martin purchasing the Losartan prescription and another item, but investigators reported it didn’t appear to be the diphenhydramine.
• DNA from the diphenhydramine cap belonged to Martin and her husband. No other was detected.
• Martin’s wedding ring and engagement ring were on her finger. No signs of an attempted robbery were found.
• The last time her husband had contact with Martin was at 10:56 a.m. on the day of her death, when she texted about a bank account number he needed to close out a small account.
• Security video shows Martin leaving her moored boat around 11:17 a.m., dressed in the same clothes and carrying the same tote bag as found at the scene. Her body was discovered around 5 p.m., and investigators have determined she “had been deceased for some time,” the police report says.
• Capt. Chris Skinner and Lt. Robert Bourque wrote in the report, “Numerous interviews revealed Lori Martin has been stressed for several months. The interviews vary on the reason and severity of her stress.” A close friend  reported that she has known Lori Martin for approximately 30 years. She reported Martin as being more stressed than most people knew.
• Skinner and Bourque reported, “The investigation did not discover any information indicating anyone other than Lori Martin contributed to her injuries, which resulted in her death. The crime scene investigation found no traces of additional DNA contributors other than Lori Martin within the scene, with the exception of David Martin’s DNA on the diphenhydramine lid.

The Martin family declined to comment.

Staff Writer Bret Hauff contributed to this report.