Death of UHL Coach Potvin Ruled Suicide

[inspector]

Police: Death of UHL Coach Potvin Ruled Suicide
Feb 10, 11:10 AM (ET) Email this Story

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) - The death of former NHL player Marc Potvin has been ruled a suicide.
The 38-year-old Potvin used a belt to hang himself from a shower curtain rod, police Sgt. Scott Merlo said Friday.

Potvin, coach of the Adirondack Frostbite of the United Hockey League, was found dead Jan. 13 in his Kalamazoo hotel room just hours before his team was to play against the Kalamazoo Wings.

Authorities had ruled out foul play, but were awaiting toxicology test results before announcing a cause of death. The results came back Wednesday, and the medical examiner ruled the death a suicide, Merlo said.

Tests showed that Potvin's blood-alcohol content was 0.15 percent, nearly twice the legal limit for drunken driving in Michigan.

[grudesfan4]

What I don't understand is when they found him to begin with, wouldn't they have been able to tell it was a suicide? I mean, they found him dead in his hotel room, but you'd think if it was a suicide, they would have found him hanging from the shower curtain rod, wouldn't you?

[RedWings]

I thought the same thing, grudesfan4. They could have made this announcement within 24 hours, it seems. Although I suppose they need to be very thorough to be sure that it wasn't someone trying to cover up a homicide by making it look like suicide. Still, a very tragic end.