Big Find in Case of Arsonist Who Died After Conviction

Michael Marin, the convicted arsonist who dropped dead minutes after his guilty verdict was read in a Phoenix courtroom, most likely took a homemade cyanide pill, say police. After his dramatic death, a member of Marin's family received a delayed email from the former Wall Street trader saying that, in the case of a bad court outcome, he had prepared a will and left his car in Mesa. Upon being informed of the email and searching the car Monday night, sheriff's investigators found a canister labeled "sodium cyanide" inside.

Marin apparently bought the coffee can-size container of the chemical online last year, according to Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Though investigators did not open it, it appeared to have a light powder inside; the Medical Examiner's Office is investigating. "All indications point to suicide, but until the (medical examiner's) final report, the investigation remains open," Arpaio says. A toxicologist who watched video of Marin's death speculates that cyanide was indeed involved, noting that most other quick-killing agents are gases, the Arizona Republic reports. (More suicide stories.)