Unexplained Death

[dbennett98]

My daughter,28, past away on April 26th, 2009 while staying with friends with her daughter age 8,. The medical examiner found no cause of death including no drugs or alcohol. She was a healthy woman with no birth defects. My granddaughter found her on the floor and went to get the people up she was staying with. They supposedly got her off the floor and put her to bed. 4 hours later they called their neighbor and told her they had a young woman there who was not responding. The neighbor went to their house and tried CPR on her. She was unresponsive. Why was the EMT's not called first? THis has been under investigation and I cant find any answers from neither the inverstigator or the prosectuting attorney. Is there anyone else I can go to find answers as to what happened to my daughter so I can find some closure to her death? These people she was staying with have lied time and time again about what happened that day. I just want some answers so I can tell my granddaughter what happened to her. There is still no death certificate available. Please help.

 

[tpajet]

I know you are looking for closure, but it still may be too early to get any real answers. Also, the reason you are not getting any answers out of the investigators may be because they haven't been able to get any answers themselves.

It is very, very odd that they didn't call 911 for four hours. I guess it would depend on what the circumstances were when they found her - was she breathing but just unconscious, or not breathing at all, etc, etc.

Keep in touch with the investigator, but call them regularly. If you are not getting any real info, keep bugging them to keep them on it. Ultimately if it comes down to it, and they aren't going to go any further with it, then I would contact an attorney and file a civil suit against the people she was staying with.

 

[dbennett98]

when their neighbor the LPN got to the house she said my daughter was blue and unresponsive. I just am frustrated with how they (sheriffs dept, investigator and prosecuting attorney and medical examiner keep passing it back and forth saying that they cant find a cause of death. Meaning that the prosecutor said he would talk with the sheriff and investigator and have them call me. I have not heard from them since the night she past away. I contacted and attorney and they tell me to act fast or i will lose the right to sue. Do you know how long my time is to file a civil suite>

 

[tpajet]

I would start making calls to the sheriffs office. Call or email the sheriff if you can. There should have been a death certificate issued by now, even if it said undetermined.

I'm not sure what the statute of limitations would be to file a suit, but I would as the attorney if you can go ahead and get that process going, starting with the fact that 911 was not called.

It sounds like they've really ruled out anything that the people did that could have DIRECTLY caused her death (in other words, they didn't drug her, didn't smother her, etc) so it was probably something medical, but they should have called 911. But it's very possible your duaghter could have had sleep apnea. It's actually a very common problem, but many people don't realize they have it. It usually takes a spouse/signifigant other to tell them they dtop breathing in their sleep. And in severe cases, the person can end up blue from stoping breathing for so long. If this was the case, she may have not woken herself up. And it would explain why they can't find an obvious cause of death.

It might explain why they "put her back in bed" when your granddaugther found her. She may have stoped breathing then, but falling on the floor, may have woken her up (at least to some degree) and all would have seemed normal. Then, 4 hours later it happens again, but this time, they don't get to her in time. But they should have called 911, instead of going to get the nurse neighbor.

 

[CdwJava]

My daughter,28, past away on April 26th, 2009 while staying with friends with her daughter age 8,. The medical examiner found no cause of death including no drugs or alcohol.

Sometimes it i snot easy to determine.

Depending on the state you are in, they may not be required to do a full autopsy unless foul play is suspected. Impossible to say as I don't see where you indicated your state. I know from experience that some such cases remain "undetermined".

Why was the EMT's not called first?

Who knows? You'll have to ask the people who found her.

THis has been under investigation and I cant find any answers from neither the inverstigator or the prosectuting attorney.

Why is there a prosecuting attorney? Has someone been charged with a crime?

And if the cause of death is, as yet, undetermined, then there is not much information to give you even if they were permitted to do so (which they likely are not).

Is there anyone else I can go to find answers as to what happened to my daughter so I can find some closure to her death?

The medical examiner should have jurisdiction until a finding of death is made. The law enforcement agency of jurisdiction where the body was found may still be looking into things, but they may be at a standstill until they know a cause of death or until something shakes loose. If there is no obvious sign of foul play, and the M.E. has not determined the matter to be a homicide, the ability to issue subpoenas or search warrants is greatly diminished if not impossible altogether because for those you need some evidence of a crime! So, further investigation aside from interviews and consent searches is not generally possible.


- Carl

 

[CdwJava]

when their neighbor the LPN got to the house she said my daughter was blue and unresponsive. I just am frustrated with how they (sheriffs dept, investigator and prosecuting attorney and medical examiner keep passing it back and forth saying that they cant find a cause of death. Meaning that the prosecutor said he would talk with the sheriff and investigator and have them call me. I have not heard from them since the night she past away. I contacted and attorney and they tell me to act fast or i will lose the right to sue. Do you know how long my time is to file a civil suite>

The statutes vary by state.

Who do you wish to sue and why? And, what state are you in? Answering those questions will help in determining the time you have to sue. But, if you have already spoken with an attorney, perhaps he or she can give you that answer.


- carl

 

[dbennett98]

I live in WV and the ME is the one who told me to get a copy of the report from the night of her death and to take it straight tothe prosecuting attorney. When I called the sherrifs department to get a copy they told me it was a public document and i could have one, then when i went to get it that day they would not let me have it. The ME ruled out sleep apnea. He felt that the investigator waited to long to investigate the people where she was staying. When i went to the hospital that night, this woman had a paper that said my daughter had given her temp custody of her daughter. I had to hire an attorney the next day to get my granddaughter back! THen all of sudden this paper she had that night disappeared! This woman then called my daughters fiancee in mississippi and asked him if he could find a life insurance policy.

 

[CdwJava]

If you think you have enough to INFER foul play, then the next of kin might consider a civil suit for wrongful death as the burden of proof is less for a civil suit than for a criminal case. Obviously, the law enforcement authorities do not believe that there is sufficient cause to believe that a crime was committed.

You need to find out if a death certificate has been issued, and who is eligible to obtain a copy. It could be that you are not considered the next of kin and not eligible to receive it. Not knowing the laws in your state on this matter, I cannot say for sure. Also, if the Coroner has not yet ISSUED a death certificate, then obviously none can be provided.

- Carl