{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}} {{short description|American lawyer}}
{{About|the American financier|American vascular surgeon|Michael L. Marin}} {{Infobox person | name = Michael Marin | image = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = Michael James Marin | birth_date = December 2, 1958 | birth_place = | death_date = {{Death date and age|2012|6|28|1958|12|2}} | death_place = Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. | death_cause = Suicide by cyanide ingestion | alma_mater = Brigham Young University (B.A.), Yale University (J.D.) | children = 4 }} '''Michael James Marin''' (December 2, 1958 – June 28, 2012) was an American financier, lawyer, ex-Wall Street trader, and millionaire who died by suicide by cyanide ingestion seconds after being convicted of arson.
==Early life== Marin was raised in Oak Harbor, Washington. A member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he attended Brigham Young University. After college, he enrolled at Yale Law School.
==Career== Marin advised on complex investments in the 1980s and '90s, working for Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, and Salomon Brothers mainly in their operations in Asia.
Marin led a lavish lifestyle, buying a multimillion-dollar mansion in Arizona and collecting works of art that included etchings by Pablo Picasso. He traveled extensively throughout the Far East. He would travel to exotic climates and summited the highest peaks of six continents, including Mount Everest in 2001.<ref name="usatoday">{{cite news |last=Kiefer |first=Michael |date=August 19, 2012 |title=The extreme life and dramatic death of Michael Marin |newspaper=USA Today |publisher=Gannett Co. Inc. |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-08-19/defendant-kills-self/57134642/1 |access-date=July 16, 2017}}</ref>
==Death== Marin was tried for arson and insurance fraud for setting his home on fire.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/michael-marin-arizona-man-dies-moments-after-being-convicted-in-arson-case/ |title=Michael Marin, Arizona man, dies moments after being convicted in arson case |work=CBS News |author=Crimsider Staff |date=June 29, 2012 |access-date=June 22, 2020 |publisher=CBS Interactive Inc.}}</ref> Court hearings started on May 21, 2012, and Marin faced 7 to 21 years in prison if convicted.
The jury found Marin guilty on June 28, 2012. Soon after the verdict, and being informed that he was to be taken into custody immediately, he died by suicide in court. He was seen in court videos closing his eyes and putting his hands over his face as the verdict was being read, before putting something in his mouth and drinking a liquid. He then fell to the floor and began to convulse. Marin was rushed to a central hospital in Phoenix and was pronounced dead; an autopsy confirmed he had taken a lethal dose of cyanide.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/defendant-{{sic|commit|ed|hide=y}}-suicide-in-courtroom-by-taking-cyanide/ |title=Defendant committed suicide in courtroom by taking cyanide |newspaper=Seattle Times |first=Michael |last=Muskal |date=July 27, 2012 |access-date=June 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403204420/https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/defendant-commited-suicide-in-courtroom-by-taking-cyanide/ |archive-date=2019-04-03 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Michael Marin, former Wall Street trader, took cyanide after arson conviction, says autopsy|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/michael-marin-former-wall-street-trader-took-cyanide-after-arson-conviction-says-autopsy/|access-date=August 9, 2021|website=www.cbsnews.com|date=July 27, 2012 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=July 27, 2012|title=Former Wall Street banker committed suicide in court by taking cyanide pill after arson conviction: autopsy|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/former-wall-street-banker-committed-suicide-in-court-by-taking-cyanide-pill-after-arson-conviction-autopsy|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210809033251/https://nationalpost.com/news/former-wall-street-banker-committed-suicide-in-court-by-taking-cyanide-pill-after-arson-conviction-autopsy|archive-date=August 9, 2021|access-date=August 9, 2021|website=National Post|agency=Reuters|language=en-CA|quote=Sheriff’s investigators found a canister of sodium cyanide powder inside his car after being alerted to the vehicle by Marin’s adult son.{{break}}The son had received a delayed email from Marin about the location and said his will was in order in case 'things don’t go well in court,' investigators said.{{break}}Sodium cyanide, commonly used to extract gold during the mining process, is known to inhibit breathing. Investigators believe Marin fashioned the powder he purchased last year from a California supplier into capsules to be consumed in court.}}</ref> At the time of his death, he was a father of four and a grandfather of two.
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marin, Michael}} Category:1958 births Category:2012 suicides Category:Suicides by cyanide poisoning Category:American financiers Category:Place of birth missing Category:American people convicted of arson Category:Filmed suicides Category:Brigham Young University alumni Category:Yale Law School alumni Category:American Latter Day Saints Category:Businesspeople from Phoenix, Arizona Category:Lawyers from Phoenix, Arizona Category:Suicides in Arizona Category:New York (state) lawyers Category:People from Oak Harbor, Washington Category:2012 deaths Category:Wealth in the United States