By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
The body of an Orem man was found in his car where
he had died, in all probability a month previously, of an
apparent self-inflicted gun shot to the head.
Dead at the scene was Glen Hanselman, 48, Orem.
Justin Kimball, Nephi City Police Detective, said
Hanselman was found inside a Bronco II in the parking lot
on the west side of Motel 6. He had been dead for several
weeks by the time he was found.
"Some people who were cleaning the grounds at Motel
6 noticed a guy inside the vehicle who appeared to be
leaning back in the seat," said Kimball. "When they
looked inside the vehicle they noticed a gun on his
lap."
Kimball said 911 was called and he was assigned, by
Nephi City Police Chief Chad Bowles, to respond to the
scene.
The increased number of guests and vehicles at the
motel, caused by construction workers renting rooms while
they work on construction at the Currant Creek Power
Plant, made it more difficult to pay attention to the
parked vehicle.
Because of the way Hanselman was leaning back in
his seat, he appeared to be sleeping.
"The wound was pretty clean," said Kimball.
The fact that the victim appeared just to be
resting did not attract the attention of anyone until
employees began the motel property clean-up. In addition,
there did not seem to be anything wrong with Hanselman
until he was looked at closely by those peering at him
through his vehicle window.
"The cold weather had helped preserve the
body."
Hanselman had a 9 mm handgun in his lap. The size
of the gun and the fact that the windows were rolled up
and the doors locked may have made the gunshot difficult
to hear outside the vehicle. The sound may have also been
muffled by the passing of a train since a rail line is
located nearby.
No one had reported the sound of a gunshot during
the time the death may have occurred, said Kimball.
"There was no evidence of foul play and we did find
a letter written by the victim inside the vehicle," he
said.
The death probably occurred sometime around
Christmas, he said.
An Orem neighbor of Hanselman had reported him
missing on Dec. 27, 2003. He was last seen alive on Dec.
23.
The body was found on Thursday, Jan. 27.
"There were Christmas decorations displayed inside
the vehicle," said Kimball, "so the death probably
occurred on or close to Christmas."
The man was reported by his father as having a
history of suicide threats which reached as far back as
his high school days. In fact, said Kimball, the man had
stabbed himself in the chest with a knife in an earlier
reported incident which occurred in Orem.
Hanselman had no next of kin in the state. He was
not married. His family resides in North Carolina where
Hanselman originated.
Usually those who are reported missing and who have
a history of threatening suicide, said Kimball, are
listed on the NCIC (National Crime Information Center)
computers.
NCIC is a computerized index of criminal justice
information (i.e. criminal record history information,
fugitives, stolen properties, missing persons). It is
available to Federal, state, and local law enforcement
and other criminal justice agencies and is operational 24
hours a day, 365 days a year.
In this case, someone reporting the car license
plate would not have received the information that
Hanselman was a possible suicide threat.
"That did not happen in this case because, several
days after the neighbor reported Hanselman missing, a
person thought he had seen him," said Kimball.
"The reported sighting was, obviously, a case of
mistaken identity," he said.
