June 27, 2010
Exhumation order calls death investigation into question
By Michelle James and Carl “Butch” Antolini
The Register-Herald
The body of a 55-year-old Cool Ridge man who died at Camp Creek in January has been exhumed for an autopsy by the state Medical Examiner’s Office.
Both Raleigh County Prosecutor Kristen Keller and Mercer County Prosecutor Timm Boggess signed the exhumation order for Gary Wayne Cox, whose death was ruled a suicide without an autopsy.
On March 19, the order was entered by Raleigh County Circuit Judge John Hutchison and states that Keller and Boggess agreed that the state medical examiner needed to conduct both an autopsy and a death investigation since “both prosecuting attorneys are informed and believe that essentially no investigation was conducted.”
The Mercer County Sheriff’s Department handled the initial investigation in January. Sheriff Don Meadows told The Register-Herald on Friday he had not been informed of the exhumation order.
“I had not been made aware of that and frankly I’m surprised that the prosecutor here (Boggess) did that without letting me know,” Meadows stated.
When asked about the specifics of the order, which questioned the validity of the investigation into Cox’s death, Meadows said the deputy assigned to the case, Lt. Joe Parks,“investigated it and dealt with what he had.”
“If the prosecutor thought it wasn’t a proper investigation, he should have assigned someone else to investigate,” Meadows added.
Meadows went on to say the only thing he has heard about the case has been “a lot of complaints from his (Cox’s) daughter about the weapon” involved in the death.
“We sent it to the (State Police) firearms lab and haven’t heard back yet,” Meadows said.
Parks also acknowledged he had not heard about the exhumation, but he was “not surprised” based on what has taken place since January.
“The deceased’s family has been fairly hostile with us and I’m not sure why,” Parks stated.“There were three officers on the scene with more than 30 years of law enforcement experience and two assistant medical examiners there as well.
“There were things at the scene that made it blatantly obvious that it was a suicide,” Parks added.“I’m certainly open to any new leads or information that might indicate wrongful death. But at this point, I haven’t seen or heard anything like that.”
When reached by The Register-Herald, Boggess declined to comment, confirming only that he had indeed signed the order.
Keller, however, said the order was the result of concerns raised by Cox’s family.
“Mr. Cox’s daughter and ex-wife contacted my office because they had reasonable questions about how it was determined that he committed suicide,” she said.
Keller said the report from the medical examiner has not yet been received, but an investigation might be in order depending on the results.
“There needs to be an investigation and people need to be interviewed,” she said, adding that, despite the original report, none of Cox’s associates say he was suicidal.“It will be plain old detective work to determine whether or not the original finding of suicide was right or wrong.”
Cox’s daughter, Melody, said all she wants are answers backed by investigative facts.
“Although it has been very emotionally and physically stressful for me, I wanted my dad’s body exhumed for an autopsy,” she said.“This should have been performed at the time of his death instead of three months after the fact. My father did not have leukemia or any other illness, as was told. He was not lonely, or depressed, and was loved by family and friends.
“I feel the lack of an initial investigation was a violation of his civil rights,” Cox added.“A black lab was shot a few days after him and received more investigation. I am sure an amended death certificate will soon be issued, thanks to the state Medical Examiner’s Office and the Raleigh County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.”
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Beckley, WV
Cancer
