Daily Mail Online has investigated the final hours of Wikileaks -linked DNC analyst Seth Rich

Staff at Lou's City Bar told Daily Mail Online he was so drunk one of them offered him a ride home - he refused saying he was headed to another bar

His drunken state could have made him a prime target for violence in the high-crime northwest Washington, D.C. neighborhood

Crucial hours leading up to his death are still unaccounted for

Police investigating if murder was tied to a string of armed robberies in the neighborhood

Daily Mail Online can exclusively report that three prior felons have been arrested for robbing people at gunpoint just blocks from the scene of Rich's shooting

They had handguns - Seth was shot in the back with a handgun

The Democratic National Committee staffer who was mysteriously gunned down a block from his home on July 10 had been drinking heavily at a bar and was depressed over an argument with his girlfriend on the night of his death – which could have made him a prime target for violence in the high-crime northwest Washington, D.C. neighborhood where he was killed.

The timeline of Rich's final hours independently compiled through a Daily Mail Online investigation, cuts against conspiracy theories that claimed the DNC staffer was assassinated or on his way to an FBI meeting when he was killed – although the crucial minutes leading up to his death are still unaccounted for.

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Patrolling police, responding to the sound of multiple gunshots, found Seth Rich, 27, lying on the street with bullet wounds at around 4:19 a.m. Rich, who still had his wallet and cell phone on him when police arrived, was pronounced dead in a local hospital about an hour later.

DNC staffer Seth Rich, who was mysteriously gunned down a block from his home on July 10, had been drinking heavily at a local bar

Seth was depressed over an argument with his girlfriend on the night of his death

Since then, the murder has set off a flurry of international speculation and conspiracy theories, including claims that Rich, who worked in the voter access department, leaked sensitive DNC documents to Wikileaks or was about the blow the whistle on Democratic voting fraud.

And as police investigate whether the murder was tied to a string of armed robberies in the neighborhood, the Daily Mail can exclusively report that three prior felons have been arrested for robbing people at gunpoint just blocks from the scene of Rich's shooting.

According to staff at Lou's City Bar, a sports pub Rich frequented five or six nights a week, it started off as any typical Saturday. Rich showed up alone that evening and sat at his usual leather stool in the corner of the bar. He was a regular at the pub, often showing up straight from the office in a shirt and tie and lugging his laptop bag.

According to staff at Lou¿s City Bar, a sports pub Rich frequented five or six nights a week, it started off as any typical Saturday. Rich showed up alone that evening and sat at his usual leather stool in the corner of the bar throwing back Bell's beers

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By closing time at Lou's, around 1:45 a.m., Rich said he was was planning to walk over to Wonderland Ballroom, a popular late-night bar, a few blocks away. Rich left on foot, but it is unclear if he ever ended up going to Wonderland, where he was not well-known. Staffers who worked that night told the Daily Mail Online that they did not recall whether they saw him based on his photo

Over the past few years, Rich had befriended Lou's bartenders and bussers, frequently sticking around for drinks with them after closing or going out with them to other late-night spots in the neighborhood. He liked to argue sports and politics, but not in a combative way.

'For the most part, I would say he talked to people who were on staff,' said Bernard Warren, the part-time manager on duty that night. 'He would get into a conversation with guys who were sitting about sports, and even about politics, things like that…he was a friendly guy…a Midwestern kind of guy.'

But that night, something was clearly bothering Rich – those who knew him said he had been having problems with his girlfriend – and he seemed to drink more than usual. He got particularly depressed when one country western love song came on, and asked the bartender to turn it off.

'He was a little bit sadder than usual,' said Lou's general manager Joe Capone. 'Problems between girlfriends and boyfriends. It was like always wondering what the next step is [in the relationship], and what you're going to do next. There's always those worries, and Seth was worried about that a little bit.'

Sources close to Rich said he often walked home from the bars. If he did go to Wonderland, and left at 2:30 a.m., it would have taken him approximately 30 minutes to walk the mile-long trek home to his Bloomingdale row-house

The location where Seth was shot dead was the southwest corner of Flagler Place and W Street Northwest. There is as much as an hour and a half between the bars and the shooting unaccounted for

Rich's girlfriend, Kelsey Mulka , 25 – who was not in D.C. on the weekend Seth was killed – declined to be interviewed for this story. Seth's parents said he was on his cell phone with her when he was killed.

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By closing time, around 1:45 a.m., Rich was unusually drunk. The 27-year-old DNC staffer could normally throw back Bell's beer for hours without a problem, but that night he was uncharacteristically unsteady on his feet as he made his way out the door.

'It was rare for him to really show that he had been drinking,' said Warren. 'That was unusual for him. That was very, very unusual for him to do that.'

When Warren saw Rich standing outside on the patio with some of the bar staff as he was locking up, he felt a protective instinct kick in and asked if he needed a ride home. Rich said no – he was planning to walk over to Wonderland Ballroom, a popular late-night bar, a few blocks away.

'I'll always wonder if maybe if I had been more convincing with him…,' said Warren, trailing off. 'But he wanted to go someplace else and drink. That was for certain. And I wasn't going to hang out. I had to get up the next morning for basketball.'

At 4:19 a.m., patrolling police reported hearing multiple gunshots near the intersection of Flagler Street Northwest and W Street Northwest. When they arrived, they found Rich suffering from multiple gunshot wounds

Rich left on foot, but it is unclear if he ever ended up going to Wonderland, a crowded weekend bar known for its live music. He was not well-known to the employees there. Staffers who worked that night told the Daily Mail that they did not recall whether they saw him based on his photo.

Wonderland closed at 2:30 a.m. that night, according to employees. Other bars and late-night food places on the block said they would have closed by the same time or earlier.

Sources close to Rich said he often walked home from the bars. If he did go to Wonderland, and left at 2:30 a.m., it would have taken him approximately 30 minutes to walk the mile-long trek home to his Bloomingdale row-house – possibly longer if he had been drinking heavily.

That leaves as much as an hour and a half between the bars and the shooting unaccounted for.

Rich's father told the Daily Mail Online that his son had poor cell phone reception at his house and would sometimes step outside to make calls. He was talking on the phone with his girlfriend when he was accosted a block from his house around 4 a.m.

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At 4:19 a.m., patrolling police reported hearing multiple gunshots near the intersection of Flagler Street Northwest and W Street Northwest. When they arrived, they found Rich suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

Rich¿s father told the Daily Mail Online that his son had poor cell phone reception at his house and would sometimes step outside to make calls. He was talking on the phone with his girlfriend when he was accosted a block from his house around 4 a.m.

Rich's father said he was told by investigators that his son was shot in the back, and that he still had his cell phone, wallet and watch on him when he was found.

Rich was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly before 6 a.m. The coroner's office said it does not publicly release reports, but confirmed that cause of death was gunshots to the torso.

The ten-block radius around where Rich was killed had seen a significant spike in armed robberies with guns, with eight reported in the six weeks leading up to his murder.

Two of these muggings occurred on the same corner where Rich was shot, a desolate-looking residential block shielded by new construction sites and notably absent of surveillance cameras.

Many of the robberies seemed to have similar modus operandi. A small group of young men would approach a victim on the street, one of them brandishing a silver gun. They asked the victim to disable his cell phone and hand over his wallet. They would leave on foot or in a getaway vehicle. The robberies occurred at random times – often in the evenings, sometimes closer to midnight, and once at noon in broad daylight.

As the incidents continued, Bloomingdale residents implored police to find the criminals, holding a community meeting in June and pushing police to increase surveillance. After Rich was killed, locals took to online neighborhood message boards to connect the armed robberies with the shooting.

'There has been a small group of guys with a silver handgun terrorizing this neighborhood for weeks with minimal response from public officials,' wrote one poster. 'I don't know if this is possible, but if I were one of [Rich's] family members, I would explore suing the district for negligence.'

'MPD dropped the ball on this. I am willing to bet this is a robbery gone bad from the same 'sliver handgun' guys. WTF did they thing was going to happen?' wrote another resident.

The armed robberies notably stopped after Rich was killed – although only for a few weeks.

Although the Metropolitan Police Department said it does not have any updates on Rich's case, Daily Mail Online can report that three men were arrested after an armed robbery nine blocks from where Rich was shot, on July 28. It is unclear whether the MPD has looked into them in relation to the case.

Paul Tyrone Dorn, 19, Demetrius Brandon, 20 and 22-year-old Stanley Marquis Williams were arrested after allegedly robbing a group of three men at gunpoint at around 8 p.m. on July 28, according to the police report.

Police said they found three handguns – a Hi-Point, a Ruger and a Taurus – in their possession, as well as wallets and iPhones from the victims.

According to Seth father Joel Rich, his killer used a handgun.

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The men are currently awaiting a grand jury. All three have prior criminal records for robbery.