Friday, July 16, 2004

The investigation into the death of 28-year-old Bowling Green resident Jeremy Scott Martin is still under way, according to Kentucky State Police, and the possibility of it being a homicide has not been ruled out.

Martin was found unconscious May 30 in a loading dock area at Barren River Lake State Park. He was attending his 10-year Glasgow High School reunion at the park.

Now, Martins friends are left wondering what went wrong.

Its so hard for me to fathom that anybody could intentionally harm Scotty, but I couldnt imagine him falling either, said Holly Combs, a longtime friend and former roommate of Martins. Its so hard to speculate, having not been there. I dont think I ever knew Scotty to hurt anybody intentionally. He was such a gentle person. Its so hard for me to imagine somebody hurting him.

In the summer of 1999, Martin moved to Lexington, where he met Combs. He did not complete his education at the University of Kentucky, though Combs said that was something he always dreamed of.

Education was so important to Scotty, but he had kind of drifted away from school, she said. He always intended to finish and he told me that right up until a few days before he went to the reunion.

Martin eventually wanted to become a high school German teacher, but worked a variety of jobs in the meantime, including numerous jobs in the restaurant industry and also as a customer service representative at Target.

He also helped raise money for charities.

Thats why its such a tragedy that something like this would happen to somebody who gave so much to the community, said Martins friend, Dwight Stambaugh.

Stambaugh agreed the circumstances of Martins death were suspicious.

I know he was at the park because of the reunion, but why he would be behind the loading dock in the middle of the night and then fall … . It was very traumatizing almost, to hear that this had happened because you just dont hear of those things happening to people you know, he said.

Martin asked Combs and another friend to attend the high school reunion with him. They declined the invitation due to short notice and insufficient time to make the trip from Lexington.

Instead, she would later join Martin at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he died after 11 days. Martins sister, Brandi Claywell of Glasgow, notified Combs of Martins condition, knowing the two were very close friends. Combs said she never saw Martin regain consciousness.

We were (at Vanderbilt) within 24 hours, as quickly as I could possibly get down there, she said. We came home one night but I couldnt stand feeling like I was that far away so we were back in Nashville the next afternoon.

Martin, a 1994 graduate of Glasgow High School, was a drum major in the Glasgow Scottie band and a classroom instructor at AFNI in Bowling Green.

At the time of the reunion, Combs said he had been enrolled for a while in the Alcoholics Anonymous program and was taking it very seriously, so she did not suspect he was drinking the night of the reunion.

Kentucky State Police expect to hold a status meeting with all involved detectives within two weeks.

This (investigation) is bigger, said KSP Sgt. Shannon West. Youve got a lot of witnesses and potential witnesses, which is uncommon. This was a class reunion. Its long and arduous. Thats the truest reason for the delay.

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