Two sharply different narratives surround the death of 41-year-old Thomas Mortin in Rhode Island. One account says Mortin was found in a wooded area off a dirt road in Exeter on February 8, 1991, and investigators determined he died of blunt force trauma after a severe beating. That version reports Mortin had been seen with acquaintances and that a soured business deal may have provided a motive; it further states DNA testing in 1999 implicated a close associate and led to an arrest and conviction.

A conflicting account places Mortin’s killing at his West Shore Road residence near Boone Lake, where he was allegedly shot twice in the head in his driveway, dragged into the house, and the home set on fire. That version says the cause of death was gunshot wounds and that no arrests have been made, with the North Kingstown Police Department listed as the contact for anyone with information.

Which of these two very different accounts fits the local memory or records for Thomas Mortin’s death, and does anyone have documents or firsthand information that clarify what actually happened?