Autopsy on Post Office Killer Set

A postal worker who shot three people and then killed himself had planned at one time to donate his body organs, but authorities said Saturday that John Merlin Taylor’s organs were unsuitable for use in human-transplant operations.

However the San Diego County coroner’s office declined to detail why the body parts of the 52-year-old postal worker were unfit.

A spokesman for the coroner said an autopsy on Taylor was planned for today, and that it will be at least a week until laboratory results on blood samples taken from Taylor are available.

Awaiting Test

Only then, authorities said, will they know for sure whether Taylor was under the influence of alcohol or drugs when he shot and killed his wife, drove the few blocks to the Orange Glen postal station and killed two fellow workers and wounded a third, then shot himself in the head.

Exactly why the 27-year veteran letter carrier went on the rampage remains unclear.

Some co-workers point to mounting stress in the Postal Service, a factor that has been discussed in recent months as other postal workers have committed suicide. Other theories lead to personal problems Taylor was experiencing.

In addition, a divorce case in the 1970s portrayed Taylor as a heavy drinker who abused his first wife. And a family disturbance more than 30 years ago--when Taylor was growing up in a small central Missouri town--ended with a sister shooting their father to death after he came home drunk and beat their mother.

From the moment Taylor shot himself about 7:35 a.m. Thursday at the postal station in Escondido, and then was rushed to the Palomar Medical Center, he was considered brain dead by doctors. Patricia Rarus, a medical center spokeswoman, said Taylor was declared legally dead about 5:55 p.m. Friday.

But she said he was continued on life-support systems through the night Friday. She said that although Taylor had in the past signed an organ donor card, his family members still had to give their consent to any organs being used in transplants.