Weldon Irvine Suicide Location

 murder site, historical layer / disappeared object

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On April 9, 2002, Weldon Irvine, 59, killed himself with a rifle on the front lawn of this Uniondale office complex. The apparent suicide took place at the EAB Plaza, on Hempstead Turnpike, just west of the Meadowbrook Parkway and across from Nassau Coliseum.
It happened about 3:20 p.m., while workers were inside the large office complex.
Homicide Det. Sgt. Richard Laursen said.
He was wearing a tailored button-down shirt, gray slacks and black shoes.
He apparently carried the .22-caliber rifle used in the shooting in a black garment bag, according to police.
Irvine left no suicide note, so we can only speculate as to what pressures could have led to this tragic end. Friends close to Weldon at the time of his death spoke of his contemplating selling the rights to his music to settle the $200,000 debt owed to the Internal Revenue Service.
The body was taken to the Nassau medical examiner for an autopsy.
It is interesting to note that Irvine’s mother also committed suicide.
Irvine had been an accomplished musician since 1964, a time when he was involved with a quintet that won an award at a college jazz festival.
Weldon also studied English, Drama and music theory.
He relocated to New York in 1965 and formed a 17 piece band that included Billy Cobham, Randy Brecker and Lenny White amongst others.
The group recorded seven albums and toured the globe.
In 1977, he began an involvement in musicals, namely 'Young Gifted and Broke', 'The Vampire And The Dentist', 'The Will' and 'Keep It Real', all of which contained music penned by Weldon.
Weldon penned the lyrics to 'Young, Gifted and Black', along with many other songs performed by artists ranging from Stevie Wonder to Donny Hathaway.
Weldon's songs were sampled by A Tribe Called Quest and Ice Cube amonst many other rap artists.
He also played instruments on several rap tunes.
Weldon worked closely with Nina Simone, who performed 'Young, Gifted and Black', and was a close friend of the artist Don Blackman.