The research engineer 's rising career seemed enviable . Shane Todd of Montana was working abroad in Singapore on the latest cell phone and radar technology , coveted by global corporations . Todd was found dead at age 31 , however , in his Singapore apartment last June , and his death has become an international controversy that involves local police , the FBI , an independent forensic analysis and , the parents allege , corporate intrigue found on their son 's hard drive . Singapore police have been investigating Todd 's death as a suicide by hanging . They refer to a pulley system around a toilet and over a door in Todd 's flat . His parents , however , say that 's absurd and they assert foul play . Shane Todd 's suicide note spoke of family events that never happened , they say . The family hired a Missouri forensic pathologist , who said photos of their son 's body and the Singaporean coroner 's report show a different story : homicide . In the wake of family 's revelations about the hard drive , Singapore police on Friday asked the FBI for assistance pertaining to evidence on U.S. soil . The hard drive ended up in the parents ' possession when they packed up their son 's apartment , and the mother had thought the device was a small speaker for a computer , she said . They later discovered it really was a hard drive , they said . Parents Mary and Rick Todd met with a U.S. State Department representative this week in Washington . The FBI , which earlier said it was watching the case , did n't immediately respond to a request for a comment on the Singapore police announcement . Eric Watnik , a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Singapore , said the FBI will comply with the request . `` The request is focused on issues entirely within the United States , '' he said . `` To be clear , the investigation into Shane 's death continues to be led by the Singaporean police . '' Documents on the hard drive and its login activity suggest their son was working on a project that may have led to his death , his parents say . The circumstances of their son 's death have upended the couple 's life in Marion , Montana . `` I just fell to the floor and said it could n't be my first-born son . It could n't be , '' said Mary Todd , mother of four boys , who learned of her eldest child 's death from his girlfriend . Rick Todd , an airline pilot whose wife told him of his son 's death right after he flew a long flight , said : `` I just , just screamed in the airport . '' Shane Todd worked for the Institute of Microelectronics in Singapore from December 2010 until his resignation last May 2 , the government research institute said . He is believed to have died during the overnight hours of June 22 and June 23 , the family said . Though the institute said he was `` thought of highly by his supervisor and peers , '' he disliked his job , his parents said . That 's another reason why his suicide note is suspicious , his parents said : It thanked his company . The note also spoke of his family drinking Shirley Temples on a beach -- an event that never occurred , they said . `` When I read the note I handed it back to the officer and I said my son may have killed himself , but he did not write this note , '' Mary Todd said of meeting with authorities in Singapore last year . The couple also found no evidence of a pulley system : there were no pulleys or holes in the ceramic walls in the bathroom , Mary Todd said . Shane Todd 's apartment appeared as if he were about to return to the United States : clean clothes were folded and boxes packed . A plane ticket sat on the table . He also had a new job lined up , the family said . Holding a doctorate in electrical engineering , Shane Todd worked for his prominent employer , helping to develop faster , more powerful semiconductors by using the compound gallium nitride . In his last months , Todd expressed stress about his work and even fear for his life , his family said . He wondered if his work might be illegal or a risk to U.S. national security , his parents said . After his death , Todd 's parents found that his hard drive contained a proposal between the Singapore outfit and a prominent Chinese telecom firm , Huawei , to build a powerful amplifier using gallium nitride technology . The Todds showed the documents to CNN . Huawei has been at the center of controversy . It and another Chinese telecom company , ZTE , were cited last October by the U.S. House Intelligence Committee , which said the two firms `` can not be trusted to be free of foreign state influence and thus pose a security threat to the United States and to our systems . '' That comment referred to the firms ' business practices , and the committee report said , `` the United States should view with suspicion the continued threat of the U.S. telecommunications market '' by the Chinese companies . Huawei rejected the committee report , calling the findings `` baseless . '' In reference to the proposal found on Todd 's hard drive , Huawei and the Institute of Microelectronics in Singapore insisted they had no such project or even a business relationship , though they acknowledged preliminary talks . Nothing became of those talks , they said . `` There is speculation by the Todd family that Shane 's death was related to a project undertaken by IME with Huawei . Neither IME nor Shane was involved in any classified research project , '' IME said in a statement . `` The research and development carried out in IME is to advance economic growth for Singapore and deliver on healthcare and social benefits , '' it said . IME is n't commenting further because Todd 's death is under police investigation . `` IME has cooperated fully with the authorities and will continue to do so , '' the institute said . Huawei spokesman Scott Sykes said that gallium nitride , or GaN , technology improves power amplifier efficiency and is `` widely recognized as a key technology for next-generation wireless base stations . '' `` IME approached Huawei on one occasion to cooperate with them in the GaN field , but we decided not to accept , and consequently do not have any cooperation with IME related to GaN , '' Sykes said in a statement to CNN . The Singapore police have said they received `` no response '' from the Todd family to share evidence , including the hard drive . `` If they were not comfortable handing evidence in their possession to the Singapore Police Force ( SPF ) , they could seek the FBI 's help to review the evidence , '' a spokesman said . `` As there has so far been no response to this request , SPF has sought the FBI 's assistance to engage the family and for FBI to examine the evidence . '' On February 20 , Singapore police told the Financial Times that they had already examined the hard drive . The couple , however , doubts that because the police description of the drive does n't match the one they found in their son 's apartment , they said . The drive shows someone accessing it for only three minutes the night their son died and then again four days later , right before the parents visited his apartment for the first time , the parents said . A forensic analysis of the drive shows someone reviewing , creating and deleting files during those two access events , the family said . That forensic analysis was conducted by a computer expert , the family said . Singapore officials have invited the Todds to a coroner 's inquest , scheduled to be held sometime this month . The parents are n't saying whether they would to return to Singapore . Meanwhile , Max Baucus ( D-Montana ) , chairman of the Senate Finance Committee , said his staff has met with U.S. Embassy and Singaporean officials in Singapore , and he has spoken with White House officials `` to ensure this issue on their radar , '' a spokeswoman said . Rick Todd had pictures taken of his son 's body when it was returned to the United States . The photos show bruises on Shane Todd 's hands and a lump on his forehead , which the independent forensic pathologist said showed a fight , the parents said . The back of Shane Todd 's neck was cut , the family said . Shane Todd most likely was strangled by a wire , the pathologist told the family . Bruises also indicated that Shane Todd was trying to squeeze his hands under the wire , the family said . There was little fluid in his lungs ; hanging typically takes several minutes making the lungs heavy with fluid , the pathologist told the parents . `` It 's hard , '' Rick Todd said . `` Every time I open those pictures , it 's difficult . `` But we will go to the ends of the Earth to see justice is done , '' he said . Check out the latest news from CNN.com .
Singapore police investigate engineer Shane Todd 's death as a suicide hanging . But an independent forensic pathologist concludes homicide . Todd 's hard drive shows he worked on a project that may have led to his death , family says . FBI will comply with Singapore police 's request for help on U.S. soil , embassy says .