March 17, 2010
Cause of death sought for Ala. snack food heir
The Associated PressAuthorities are trying to determine if an heir to one of Alabama's best-known companies was killed or took his own life.
Mountain Brook Police Chief Johnny Stanley said Wednesday that is the main question after the body of 63-year-old Major Bashinsky was found in a golf course pond.
Stanley says he hopes a coroner's report will provide answers.
Bashinksy, a prominent estate lawyer in Birmingham, disappeared two weeks ago. He is a son of the late Sloan Bashinsky, longtime head of Golden Flake Snack Foods. Major Bashinsky's car was found four days after he disappeared, and a letter critical of the company was taped inside it along with a bag of chips.
The letter was one of a series sent to members of the Bashinsky family.