Rodriguez shot himself in the head with his handgun. Investigation and memorial At 8 a.m., a Palo Verde Irrigation District employee discovered Rodriguez' body in his car and contacted local police. The investigating detective thought Rodriguez had simply committed suicide, but answered Munumel's call to Rodriguez' cell phone and learned of the murder from her. Blythe police then notified the Tucson Police Department officers of Smith's body in Rodriguez' apartment. Aside from his video, Rodriguez left no suicide note. Detective Sgt. Mark Fuller, who was in charge of the homicide investigation, assumed Rodriguez had killed Smith because she was responsible for his abuse; but because of scant details about her involvement in his childhood, authorities initially could not ascertain the real motive. According to police, there was no evidence Smith was tortured for information on the whereabouts of Zerby. Tucson police spokesman Sgt. Carlos Valdez said Smith died shortly before her body was recovered and that Rodriguez had left for Blythe twelve hours prior. Smith's birth name was Susan Joy Kauten; her name-change would have delayed the notification of her death to her family if she was not carrying her cell phone, which gave her birth name. A memorial for Rodriguez was held in San Diego on March 26, 2005. In her eulogy, Munumel said while Rodriguez "chose a path that no one could share with him", he knew she loved him. More than 100 people who had been formerly associated with The Family attended the service. Response to murder–suicide Researchers, ex-members, and outsiders Stephen A. Kent, a professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Alberta, said while Rodriguez was unjustifiable in the murder, one "can understand his frustration and rage" because "he and others from that generation" had never seen justice "from all the abuse they suffered". Rick Alan Ross, a cult researcher who had interviewed numerous former members of The Family, noted that Rodriguez reflected the many suicides of those who suffered "tremendous amount of pain" from being in "one of the most horrifically abusive and destructive cults in American history". Don Lattin, a journalist and author who spent two years studying Rodriguez' motives for the murder, published a book called Jesus Freaks. He believed Rodriguez was a "time bomb" waiting to go off because he exhibited aggressive tendencies and expressed guilt for other victims' abuse. According to Lattin, the abuse was not accounted for