Carmi, Ill. —
A well-known Carmi man apparently shot and killed himself on the parking lot east of the White County Courthouse in downtown Carmi Monday afternoon.
White County Coroner Carl McVey confirmed the identity of the decedent as 55-year-old Carl A. Devoy, a municipal worker for the City of Carmi.
Devoy was due in court for a 1:30 p.m. hearing to answer a petition filed by his former wife in their 1999 divorce case that requested Devoy pay money toward his teen-aged daughter's college expenses.
White County Sheriff Doug Maier said Devoy's ex-wife and daughter were inside the Courthouse waiting on the hearing to begin. A witness not identified by Maier came to the court security desk just inside the north (accessible) entrance before 1:30 p.m. and reported to court security officers Keith Brooks and Chris Marsh that a man was standing in the parking lot holding a gun to his own head.
Brooks and Marsh rounded the northeast corner and saw a male lying on the ground in a pool of blood between the first row of parking and the east wall of the building. The officers sent word for an ambulance, but the wound was fatal.
McVey said an autopsy conducted Monday night revealed Devoy died of a single gunshot wound to the head, and the results of toxicology tests are pending review at a lab. The single bullet caused wounds that were observed at the scene to have entered the right side of the decedent's head and exited the left.
Maier said a .357 magnum Smith & Wesson revolver was recovered at the scene. An older model Suburban that belonged to Devoy was located on the parking lot, and a pistol holster could be observed on the console. The vehicle was removed and processed by sheriff's deputies.
Chief Deputy Coroner Ralph Hall processed the scene of the shooting and attended the autopsy Monday night. He and McVey notified relatives in the county.
Maier said while the situation was sad, he was thankful it was not more serious. He wondered aloud what Devoy's motives were and speculated the security at the lone Courthouse entrance may have deterred Devoy from entering the building and harming other people, if that was his plan.
"We are reviewing security camera footage to see if he tried to enter the building at some point," the sheriff said. "We will probably never know what his true motives and intent were, but I am glad to have the security in place at the Courthouse to perhaps prevent more serious violence in situations like this."
Devoy, known as "Buzz" by many, was a longtime bartender in town and worked for the City of Carmi most recently at the wastewater treatment plant. He had been at his worksite Monday morning with co-workers, and they were stunned when they learned of Monday afternoon's events.
One employee told The Times he had spent practically the entire morning with Devoy and had talked at length with him about his hearing that was coming up Monday afternoon. He said Devoy did not seem to be plotting a suicide, but after learning of Monday afternoon's events, the co-worker said some comments made by Devoy earlier in the day were now viewed in a different light.
Devoy had attended several recent meetings of the Carmi City Council and demanded enforcement of the state's smoking ban in bars. He had also attended a recent meeting and complained about fellow city workers leaving a hole in his yard as part of a construction project.
Two orders of protection had been issued in White County Circuit Court against Devoy, one in 2008 that had been later dismissed, and a plenary order that was issued early last year. The 2010 order was requested by an ex-girlfriend and remained in force.
A few years ago, when the local VFW Post was having financial difficulty and relied upon volunteers to help the club operate, Devoy volunteered and bartended a number of hours to help the orgnization.
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