Colorado investigators are taking another look at the death of trailblazing author and journalist Hunter S. Thompson at the behest of his widow.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation announced Tuesday it’s heading the new investigation, at the suggestion of the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office, following a request from the writer’s wife, Anita Thompson. She was married to the “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” author from 2003 until his death on Feb. 20, 2005.
Thompson, 67, is believed to have been killed by a gunshot wound to his head. Investigators concluded he died from suicide at his home in Woody Creek, Colo., just outside Aspen.
The new review “is being conducted to provide an independent perspective on the 2005 investigation,” the CBI said in a statement.
While there’s no new evidence that suggests foul play, the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office said it wants to put to rest any lingering concerns about Thompson’s death.
“We understand the profound impact Hunter S. Thompson had on this community and beyond,” Sheriff Michael Buglione said in Tuesday’s statement. “By bringing in an outside agency for a fresh look, we hope to provide a definitive and transparent review that may offer peace of mind to his family and the public.”
There’s no firm deadline for the completion of the investigation. Officials said they plan to provide an update once the process has run its course.
It’s unclear why Anita Thompson requested a new review into the case. In the days after her husband’s death, she told The Associated Press that he spoke about suicide in the months leading up to it.
“[He would say] he feels at the peak of his life right now, has a very successful career, has a network of perfect friends,” Anita, then 32, said at the time. ”If he quit now, he would feel he was a champion.”
But Thompson’s wife told the Daily News in 2007 that she was unhappy with a biography recently published about her husband, which alleged he’d deteriorated mentally in his final days.
“There are beautiful parts in [Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner’s] book, but it sensationalizes Hunter unnecessarily,” she claimed. “It’s meant to portray him as losing his mind at the end, but he was not. He was just as kind and decent and brilliant as when he was younger.”
With News Wire Services
