Bess,
Starry and I were discussing Murdock in another topic. Was Murdock's body recovered and if saw was a bullet hole seen by the mortician to be in his head? And, if it was not recovered, I guess all we have to go on is hearsay?
Thanks for your help
Betty

his body wasnt recovered

There was an officer people saw suicide that night, but there's no knowing if it was Murdoch or not.

Hmmm.. I am very confused on this. So did Murdoch die on the Titanic?

This is one of the great mysteries of [i:a84cf77208]Titanic[/i:a84cf77208]. There were two seperate eyewitnesses - George Rheims and Eugene Daly - who seperately wrote of a self-shooting on the Boat Deck just before the ship went down, both concerning a [i:a84cf77208]Titanic[/i:a84cf77208] officer. No one has ever been able to identify which officer it was, but a lot of specultion has been about, and the most likely suspect seems to have been Murdoch. If you can get a hold of Walter Lord's [i:a84cf77208]The Night Lives On[/i:a84cf77208], the chapter "Shots in the Dark" covers the entire controversy, but that's it in a nutshell - an officer suicided, and Murdoch, who was driving the ship, seems the logical suspect. As his body was never found, that's about as far as we are likely to get.

Well, now that is a good question...he unquestionably died in the sinking, so I guess you could say that he indeed died on the TITANIC...even if in the water nearby.

Lee is right in saying his body was never recovered, and so any thought on did he/didn't he remains in the realm of speculation. But if asked as an opinion, yes I think he did. He had the most reason of all the officers who died to end his life...and in that water...well, bullet or hypothermia the end result was the same.

Thought I would research a few books and see how many have different versions of Murdock's last minutes.

Her Name Titanic by Charles Pellegrino---pg. 113 An officer fired his revolver and a man fell at his feet. The officer was up to his knees in water. He gave a military salute and then put a bullet in his head Jesus, My Jesus was that Murdock?
Pg. 241--Murdock, Titanic's First Officer died on April 15, 1912 apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound as the bridge dipped under.

Total Titanic--Marc Shapiro
Pg. 45 Witnesses will later testify that First Officer Murdoch did not fire in the air but actually shot at and killed two passengers. Then he reportedly turned the gun on himself and committed suicide.

The Night Lives on--Walter Lord Pg 104
Murdoch had been in charge of the bridge at the time of the crash and had given the orders that failed to save the ship. If his thoughts turned to suicide, it was at least understandable. Yet lightoller and those who knew him felt he was the last person to take his own life

Lightoller was also supposed to have told a close friend shortly before his death in 1952 that he knew that an officer shot himself that night on TITANIC. Now, Lightoller and Murdoch were good friends and old shipmates... I wouldn't have put it past Lightoller to say it without saying it if you get my drift.

lights,
So many new things are always surfacing. Just wait until the "anniversary of Titanic" next month. Who knows what will be revealed?

Oh, I am looking forward to it...I have a feeling it will get more interesting by the day as the anniversary approaches.