Bess Keel's Death

Finally received the autopsy report.  The medical examiner's office said that it was due to the record being undigitized.   The only thing that stands out is that she had heart disease that gives the possibility of syncopal episode (fainting).  The medical examiner theorizes that if this did happen this could have caused her to hit her head.

I have thought about if this would add any evidence.  My forensic background is in chemistry, but I would think there wouldn't be much to gain by exhumation.  X-rays can be taken if not taken at the ME's, but I would think that the most likely evidence that would have pointed to a homicide instead of an accident would be soft tissue damage/bruising. Noted in the ME's report is "left forehead laceration and left eye bruise" and "no c-spine fx/dislocation" (no broken neck).  No injuries are drawn at all on the body diagrams in the ME report. Sheriff: Body of NC murder suspect's 1st wife could be exhumed

Here is a copy of the medical examiner's report that I requested.  I will post full comments later.  My initial impression is that there's not much here.  There's not even any drawings of the injuries. So here below, the ME says: "c-spine did not show fx/dislocation" in reference to a break of the neck.  Interpreted as cervical spine showed no effects or dislocation. What gets me  is there is no description of the injuries to the head.  This seems the ideal place to describe the injury or injuries to the head, but more time is spent describing jewelry and after effects of EMT work.  If this is routine ME procedure, it doesn't seem a very scientific approach to accident investigation.

29Mar2019   I received Bess' toxicology report. There is not much to it.   Ethanol is the only drug tested and results were "none detected."   I would have liked to seen, of course, more drugs tested for.   Why not benzodiazepines/sedatives? This report leaves a lot to be desired, having worked in a highly-regulated industry.  "By what method was the ethanol tested for?"  "What's the limit of detection?" The report has no date that it was approved.   I have not received the investigative report or autopsy report.    The website says "may not exist for every case." On a side note:  I was a told by a report that Nash County was "100% reopening [Bess'] case," but in a recent TV appearance he seems to walk that back to they are going to meet with prosecutor and then decide if they are going to reopen it.  That disappoints me. (My address is redacted)

I worked with Bess Keel for four year's in Wilson, North Carolina at contract analytical testing laboratory.  She was always nice, the consummate professional, but quiet.  She was outdoorsy and liked to ride horses.  Two years after I left the company, a former coworker told me she died.  The cause: slipping on steps after the holidays carrying a turkey and hitting her head on January 1st, 2006.  Over the years, I did internet searches to find any news of her death.  I did manage to find her obituary using her real first name, "Elizabeth." But you will have to remember that at 2005, many people did not have Facebook pages or LinkedIn profiles.  None of us had smartphones.  Unless you knew Bess' family you knew no news after her death that you didn't read in a paper newspaper or was local gossip. I didn't meet any of Bess family.  I did meet her husband Lynn Keel.  He came to company parties and luncheons.  At the time, he said he was a truck driver.