
One Day After Indictment, Former Chesapeake Energy CEO Dies in Car Crash - pbhowmic
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/03/02/468930105/one-day-after-indictment-former-chesapeake-energy-ceo-dies-in-car-crash
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eplanit
Reminds me of the oddly timed death of Ken Lay of Enron. Without a negative
medical history he dies just after being convicted, but before being
sentenced. Under the law, his assets would not be in jeopardy and could be
passed on to his wife/family[1].

[1] [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/discussion/2006...](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/discussion/2006/07/05/DI2006070500553.html)

~~~
ars
> Under the law, his assets would not be in jeopardy and could be passed on to
> his wife/family

That reminds me of
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peine_forte_et_dure](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peine_forte_et_dure)

Where a person could not be convicted unless they placed themself under the
authority of the court (by pleading either guilty or not guilty). By saying
nothing the court could not penalize them (their family) financially, but
could torture them even to death (which people preferred in order to help
their family) in order to try to compel a plea.

PS. Writing that last sentence really brought home how reversed morals today
are from then. There really is no such thing as absolute morality.

~~~
qubex
The origin of the idiom “ _being hard pressed_ [to provide an answer]”.

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Uhhrrr
Shades of Cliff Baxter: [http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-mysterious-death-of-
an-enron...](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-mysterious-death-of-an-enron-
exec/)

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brooklyndude
A. Accident B. Suicide C. Take over of his car, similar to what some
conspiracy buffs think happened to Hastings from Rolling Stone.

~~~
elif
or D. faked death, if we're going conspiracy routes.

~~~
jimrandomh
No, that one's easy to rule out.

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macjohnmcc
Not if he thought ahead and found a way to make a clone that would pass for
him.

~~~
rglover
Hard boiled Oklahoma.

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aaronarduino
It was very probably suicide, see:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11212660](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11212660)

~~~
Cheyana
Yep. All these conspiracy theories... but sometimes the guy just can't face
consequences....
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxVivkXUfdU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxVivkXUfdU)

~~~
Nrsolis
I knew a guy who got wrapped up in a minor stock fraud case that might have
landed him in jail for _maybe_ a year.

He killed himself rather than face the music.

Sad, actually. He didn't need to kill himself. There is life after a
conviction.

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zipwitch
He was reportedly driving a 2013 Chevy Tahoe, which typically has OnStar.
DARPA demonstrated the ability to hack GMC's OnStar system to remotely control
brake and throttle about a year ago. Make of that what you will.
[http://jalopnik.com/darpa-hacks-gms-onstar-to-remote-
control...](http://jalopnik.com/darpa-hacks-gms-onstar-to-remote-control-a-
chevrolet-i-1684593523)

~~~
rubicon33
Why would a billionaire be driving a 2013 Chevy Tahoe? Forgive me if I find
that to be the most interesting part of all of this.

~~~
nordsieck
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Millionaire_Next_Door#Car_...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Millionaire_Next_Door#Car_shopping_habits)

Basically, one of the traits of the kind of person who accumulates a lot of
wealth, is that they don't tend to spend much of it.

~~~
JosephHatfield
McClendon is actually an exception here; He was known for being an extravagant
spender.

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narrowrail
My friend grew up with this CEO's kids, and I can't believe this is being
discussed here. For anyone that was aware of the situation when it was just an
indictment it's one thing. But now with all the speculation after the death it
is kinda creepy.

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ZoeZoeBee
Stock shot up 20% on the news
[http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/CHK](http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/CHK)

~~~
justinsaccount
No, it was already up 20% when the news came out. It went up a very small
additional amount until it sold off 10 minutes later at 3pm EST.

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omarforgotpwd
Suspicious. The conspiracy theorist in me says that someone wanted to put the
investigation to bed quickly and make it seem like the death of the founder
puts an end to the allegations.

