OLD BRIDGE — Etched in black cursive across Terence Tyler's torso was the disturbing mantra of a killer.

"If there is a God he loves violence," the tattoo read. "It is his gift to mankind. It is truly magnificent and for this I am thankful."

The chilling words were detailed in an autopsy report filed by the Office of the Middlesex County Medical Examiner and released to The Star-Ledger Sunday, nearly nine months after Tyler opened fire at the Pathmark in Old Bridge, killing two employees and then taking his own life.

The autopsy report also revealed there were no drugs or alcohol in Tyler's system at the time of the shooting.

The medical examiner found little physically wrong with Tyler, a 23-year-old former U.S. Marine. The cause of death was suicide from a gunshot to the right side of his head. It was previously unclear whether Tyler was struck by police gunfire or took his own life.

The tattoo, however, presents a window into his mindset.

"The victor has always been the one who brings the most death and destruction," the last line of the tattoo reads.

Tyler’s family declined to comment Sunday.

The county initially withheld the autopsy but later agreed to deliver the report after The Star-Ledger filed a lawsuit.

Joseph Bilal, Middlesex County attorney, said in a letter to a lawyer for The Star-Ledger, Keith Miller of the Newark firm of Robinson Wettre and Miller, that he balanced the public’s right to know against the interests the government has in keeping the records private.

"The county has concluded the public interest in the disclosure of the autopsy report and toxicology test results outweighs any other factors," Bilal wrote.

Tyler had worked at the Pathmark for about three months when he left the overnight shift early on Aug. 31, 2012, looking angry, according to one co-worker.

He returned dressed in Army fatigues and carrying a WASR-10 assault-style semi-automatic rifle. He then opened fire, targeting nobody in particular, prosecutors have said.

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Shortly after the shootings, Tyler’s sister, Fatima Dyson, said her brother was always quiet and she was in disbelief over what had occurred. Until that early morning, Dyson said her brother was a regular kid who graduated from Boys and Girls High in Brooklyn with no criminal or violent history.

His grandmother, Mary Dyson, told The Star-Ledger in September that Terence was "never right" after his mother died from cancer at 51.

Prosecutors say Tyler fired 19 random shots, killing 24-year-old Bryan Breen and 18-year-old Cristina LoBrutto, both of Old Bridge.

LoBrutto, a recent high school graduate who was planning to go to college, and Breen, a veteran Pathmark employee, were price changers who had never worked with Tyler before, said a Pathmark employee who had worked in the store.

The Middlesex County Medical Examiner’s Office previously reported Breen died instantaneously and LoBrutto died seconds after being shot. Each died from a single gunshot wound, the medical examiner’s office reported.

The tattoo wasn’t the only clue that the young man had a predilection for violence. It manifested itself on his Twitter account where he sent more than 2,000 tweets on the social networking site, some displaying a yearning to kill.

"Is it normal to want to kill ALL of your coworkers? Maybe but I’m actually in a position where I can," he tweeted June 1, 2009.

LoBrutto’s family has said in interviews that those posts were red flags that could have been caught. The family started a petition for a law that would require screening public social media posts as part of job applications. The petition has 2,715 supporters on change.org.

The five-page autopsy report and attached four-page toxicology summary describes the clothing the 5-foot-4 man was wearing that day as a full Marine uniform with lace-up boots, tactical gloves and a chest harness. The medical examiner also found some hardening and narrowing of the aorta.

Tyler joined the Marines on March 24, 2008, with a four-year commitment, but was honorably discharged Feb. 27, 2010, for medical reasons. The prosecutor’s office has never revealed what those medical reasons were, but family members have said Tyler suffered from depression.

The Marine Corps has declined to answer questions about Tyler’s separation from the service.