Dirk Smiler Owned the Gun That Killed Him
Dirk Smiler, the charismatic fixture of Washington's goth scene who died Monday, owned the gun that killed him, according to a friend.
Steve Hernandez, a friend of Smiler's since the early '90s, said today that Smiler received the bolt-action rifle as a gift several years ago from the mother of his then girlfriend. He showed it off to friends several weeks ago, Hernandez said, and it was unloaded at the time. Smiler died of a shotgun was found with a bullet wound to the head.
Smiler lived with his girlfriend, Cara Cottle, and three others. Police came to their Annandale house Monday night after one roommate reported that Smiler had been shot. Cottle, 31, is currently in a psychiatric hospital, the Washington Post reported this morning. No one has been charged, Officer Bud Walker of the Fairfax Police said, and police are considering none of the individuals involved to be a flight risk. "We don’t feel any need to rush the investigation," he says. "We’re going to take that step by step."
Detectives won't decide whether the incident was a homicide or an accidental death until they've received the results of an autopsy, Walker said. He wouldn't speculate on how long that could take.
That Smiler's death involved a gun surprised another friend, Voron Xarya. "I would guess he didn’t even own one." Xarya, like other friends of Smiler who spoke with Arts Desk, described Smiler as jovial and flamboyant, a social butterfly who often welcomed newcomers to the goth scene—as comfortable dressed to the nines in a nightclub as covered in armor at a Rennaissance Fair. “He had swords," Xarya says. "But everybody has swords.”
5:50 pm
Mr. Fischer, a friendly inquiry - if he owned the weapon that killed him, and this weapon was a bolt-action rifle, then how he die from a shotgun wound to the head?
5:55 pm
A semantic error. My apologies. Fixed.
7:27 pm
@Jonathan Fisher:
Chase ambulances much? This article is in very poor taste. Give it a rest already.
8:08 pm
Agreed.
10:04 pm
So he owned the gun that was used to kill him...are you implying that if he had not own said gun that he would not have been killed? Are you implying that a knife or sword could not have easily been used? Are you trying to say it was suicide? What are you trying to say?
11:15 pm
Didn't the gun have a sword on the end? (Bayonet style?) Does this make it part gun/part sword? Does this change anything? Did you know the gun was a German antique? Do you realize exactly how many humans in the state of VA not only own guns, but are now allowed to bring them into bars? I'm with Sean. If you're trying to make a point on the risks of gun ownership, perhaps you could attempt to make a point.
12:48 am
@ Sadlife : Bitter a little? Your moniker itself gives us a glimpse into your pathetic existence. You're probably a homely sycophant that hit on Dirk and are just hurt that he snubbed you. Get over it. This is not the place to address your issues. Go away and leave us in peace to grieve for our beloved friend.
2:39 am
I'm not sure what you're point is. I own several guns. None of them has ever hurt a soul. Dirk's death isn't a lesson in firearms safety or a way to further a political opinion. It is the end of a passionate renaissance man who touched the lives of many people. His public persona was larger than life, but to meet the real man behind that image, perhaps in the twilight hours after an epic party... that was the Dirk that I was glad to have known.
8:43 am
It's Not a Gun That Killed Him, It's a Person Who Pulled The Trigger!
11:49 am
No apology necessary, and thank you Mr. Fischer for shedding more light on the circumstances of this tragic event.
12:27 pm
@Jonathan Fisher:
It saddens me that after our 45min conversation talking about who Dirk was as a person and my experiences with him that this is the tidbit of information that you would pull away with: "He owns a gun". Consider my previous offer rescinded.
6:09 pm
A couple clarifications:
I was NOT surprised that his death involved a gun, seing as how The first thing I heard was that he was shot. I told you I would not guess that he even owned a gun, though an antique collectible makes a lot more sense.
Also, Dirk didn't wear armor to Renn Fair, that I ever saw or heard of. Fancy clothes were his thing.
2:14 pm
Mr. Fischer,
I feel that this publication is a rather poor attempt to create more hubbub about the fact that a gun was involved. What these concerned and somewhat angry sounding people are trying to say is, a memorial written about him, bringing his now extinguished life to the masses is wonderful. Dirk would have loved that. But using this as a means to further whatever agenda you've got against guns is in poor poor taste. Please, if you wish to continue writing about Dirk, do so in a way he would approve of. You won't win any awards for any of these publications, so drop the callous, biased reporting. This isnt MSNBC after all.
To everyone who has felt the loss of Dirk. Understand that where ever he is now, he's still making people laugh, and I am sure he will be waiting for you all. Just follow the smell of clove smoke and the sound of laughter.
3:01 pm
Let us not blame the victim here. Killers kill. Not inanimate objects, regardless of how we have imbued with mythic powers. Let the person who was responsible for pointing the rifle at our friend's head and then pulling the trigger take responsibility for this act. That person surely knew what the consequences of their actions were.
11:42 pm
Killers do kill however you all are blaming an innocent woman, that has not been arrested. Have you not heard of innocent till proven guilty what makes you all so set she did this? You dont think that in the heat of passion, that they could have been angry with each other, since he did sleep with numerous woman and was into sadist shit. I think that someone into sadism and s&m shit should be partly responsible. As for the roommates, i guess i am not getting it clearly, Cause how do you break up when you live together, make up go in another room and one is dead? Was there an arguement? DID it get loud? Also i am curious to know the size of this gun, considering the size of dirk and the size of cara, there is so much in question, was he shot at close range or from across the room? Please give me your feedback.....
11:56 pm
@ a little lost - She knew he slept with numerous women. Hence, "Open Relationships". She knew about the S&M - it was his thing and please don't refer to it as "sadist shit" unless you know something about the topic, which you clearly don't. That had ZERO to do with what happened, and "being into S&M shit" in NO WAY MAKES SOMEONE PARTIALLY RESPONSIBLE WHEN IT WAS UNRELATED TO THE EVENT, dumbass. Lastly, she's innocent until proven guilty, yes. That may happen still. I don't know any more than you do, but your post was full of ignorance. You are VERY lost, not a little, and it doesn't sound like you've even tried to educate yourself on the things you spoke of. Please shut up, thanks.
11:57 pm
Oh, and Mr. Fischer? You're a dick. Sorry that happened Steve.
2:31 am
KAYA_____________ Eat SHIT YOU SADISTIC FREAKY CUNT!!!
2:43 am
a little lost I take it you didn't approve of Dirk's lifestyle choices and are trying to blame them for his death instead of looking at the person who pulled the trigger? Yes innocent till proven guilty is very much what it should be but when the evidence is pretty clear and the only thing that is missing is the why. I doubt if the why will ever be enough for most of us. BTW you may want to curb your childish display and lack of being able to form mature ways of describing your disdain.
8:18 am
Aprove of his lifestyle, i dont even know him, i am going by what you and others post, as fas as my comment,this is a comment board isnt it? Take your big words sean and eat them, you sound as dumb as you probablly look....
12:36 pm
I'm torn between wanting to not feed the troll, and wanting Dirk's friends to recognize that "a little lost" is here with an agenda - To bait people in an emotionally charged state and disparage their comments and beliefs. He asks questions, then mocks and insults the response. Don't take the bait... Maybe it's a friend of Cara's (does she have any?) Maybe it's her sister, maybe it's her, maybe it's a pathetic bystander who is using this conversation (spread across many blog posts) to generate a little excitement in an otherwise dull existence.
To those of you in the "innocent until proven guilty" camp - Let me remind you. Presumption of innocence is a legal tool. No more, no less. It does not mean that killers should be treated with kindness and respect by friends and family of the victim.
It means that the burden of PROOF falls on the Prosecution (the state?), to collect and present enough compelling evidence to convince a JURY that the accused (Cara, the murdering bitch) is "guilty beyond a reasonable doubt."
Right now the police are doing just that - Gathering evidence and preparing a case. Before they can arrest her, they have to know what charges will stick in court. There are a lot of questions that still must be answered before she can be charged. Where did the bullet come from? That's a question that we would all like answered... And it will be, after the inquest.
As someone who loved Dirk, I am not impartial and I won't pretend to be. Dirk disavowed violence, he overlooked the faults of his friends - especially his lovers. I only met Cara a couple times. In that short time, she showed herself to be a selfish person who clearly had issues. She bragged about being capable, of being trained by the military to use guns. She wrote about wanting to kill him less than a day before he was shot.
I don't need any more evidence to KNOW she is guilty. I hope the state finds enough evidence to put her away for a long, long time. And if Justice miscarries and she walks away "free", I know Kharma won't. The rest of her pathetic, miserable life will be filled with pain, sorrow and bitterness. She is a hideous person. She deserves the worst life can throw at her.
10:57 am
Amen Ayla. You speak the truth.
10:25 pm
I find the "journalist's" selection of "facts" and his choice of personal familial issues paraded in this article like so much dirty laundry to be the lowest stripe of journalism. Lower than the National Enquirer's standards and that is saying a lot. Dirk's personal relationship issues and children have no bearing on his tragic and undeserved death and are of no bearing to this crime nor its ongoing investigation. It is repulsive and salacious ogling and gossiping over a poor victim's reputation and integrity. To try and paint a portrait of this refined, noble and universally beloved lover of life by sniffing through his private affairs shows a repulsive and ugly side of human nature Dirk himself was mercifully far above.
Shame on you Mr. FIscher. I hope the day you find your own destiny no one does you the disservice and dirty work you have performed over the barely cold body of a princely man. How dare you.
7:22 pm
I had the fortune of knowing Dirk years ago for awhile - he was a gentleman - a true Renaissance man in every sense of the word. What he was not was violent or mean-spirited - he epitomized the credo 'Live and let live.' He deserved a better death.