If in fact Baxter shot himself, and it's looking like a slim chance of that, he sure picked a Stupid Load to do it with. Those rounds use something like #9 birdshot and might have blended his brain from a Contact Shot, but from a couple of feet away it would be extremely iffy.
Most of them I've shot would not break a coke bottle from two feet, but they will mess up a snake.
I'd say it was left obvious on purpose (a message) that he was offed. (Don't Rat on the Plan!) Ratshot, it fits! They're cute with their innuendo.
You got that right. I've shot these in various calibers -- even made my own with CCI's shot cannisters. They have a very narrow and specific envelope of performance.
If this man was killed with a single shot, he was killed by someone who knew exactly what he was doing.
Only to those who have a lot of firearms-related knowledge--by no means a certainty with the target population of Enron executives--and that they would draw the same conclusion as you do from a somewhat ambiguous message.
If they wanted to send a message, cutting the decedent's tongue out or giving him a Colombian Necktie would be much more unambiguous.