An aspiring meteorologist was found dead in a friend's home of a gunshot wound. Was it suicide, an accident, or murder? INSIDE EDITION has the story.
It was a desperate call to 911 as Timothy Englehardt, an honor student who had dreamed of becoming a meteorologist, lay dying of a gunshot wound to the head.
But the question is, was this suicide or murder?
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In a 911 call, a friend said: “I need an ambulance. My friend shot himself. We think he is dead. He shot himself. We didn't think the gun was loaded. We didn't think he was serious. He wanted to hold the gun. We didn't think he was going to do that.”
Operator: “Do you think it was an accident or do you think it was on purpose?”
Caller: “I very much think it was an accident.”
Police found enough troubling inconsistencies to label the budding meteorologist's death "suspicious."
Timothy's grieving parents Bill and Therese Englehardt say there son was not depressed, stressed or troubled.
“Absolutely, I believe that Timothy was murdered, that someone put the gun to his head. He was happy-go-lucky. He loved life. Absolutely, Timothy did not commit suicide," his mother told INSIDE EDITION.
Timothy, a senior at a university in Daytona Beach, Florida, had just completed a dream internship with Channel 5's storm team in his hometown of Boston.
His dad said, “He was on top of the world.”
“Always wanted to be a weatherman. He wanted to be on TV. He was not shy,” Therese said.
If this was a murder, who would want Timothy dead?
His mother has a theory, “Jealousy is the evil of all evils and I think this individual was possibly envious of Timothy.”
On September 13, Timothy went to a rundown home where fellow meteorologist student Stephanie Lauber and her boyfriend were hanging out.
Stephanie’s boyfriend had a handgun with him. She told police she saw him unload it and then, she says Timothy picked it up, put it to his head and pulled the trigger.
On the 911 call, Stephanie can be heard frantically trying to calm down her boyfriend, identified as Jake.
She said, “Jake sit down! Sit down! Relax! Relax!”
Suddenly Jake yelled out, “I didn't kill him!”
She replied, “No, you didn't. Relax, you didn't kill him. Oh my God, I can't believe he did that.”
Timothy’s father told INSIDE EDITION, “I believe someone is definitely covering up.”
His mother said, “The fact that the gun wasn't even near his body. It’s very suspicious.”
Was it suicide, an accident or murder? Timothy's grieving parents say they need to know the truth.
His tearful mother proclaimed, “We know he didn’t commit suicide, we know that.”
Stephanie and her boyfriend have not been named suspects.
