The Shannon County Coroner’s Office was called to assist in a death investigation on March 8th, following a request from the Shannon County Sheriff’s Office. The case, which initially raised concerns of a possible homicide, has since been determined to be the result of natural causes.
According to the Coroner’s Office, the Shannon County Sheriff’s Office was first contacted at 1:10 p.m. by the brother of the deceased. However, the Coroner’s Office itself was not informed until 3:28 p.m. Upon arrival at the scene in the Birch Tree area, law enforcement officers from the Sheriff’s Office, Missouri State Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Control, and emergency medical responders from Mercy EMS were present.
The deceased individual was found outside the residence, lying in the driveway. Given the circumstances at the scene, authorities initially suspected a potential homicide. This led to the decision to perform an autopsy at Southern Missouri Forensics in Ozark, Missouri.
Following the autopsy, the attending pathologist concluded that the cause of death was a myocardial infarction, commonly known as a heart attack. Although a head injury was noted on the left temporal area, further examination revealed that it was non-fatal and did not contribute to the individual’s death.
Despite the findings, the manner of death has been ruled undetermined due to various factors surrounding the case. Notably, emergency medical services were not activated for the decedent before his passing, leaving unanswered questions about whether medical intervention could have changed the outcome.
The Coroner’s Office has requested official reports from the Shannon County Sheriff’s Department but has not received them at this time. The investigation remains ongoing as officials continue reviewing the circumstances surrounding the individual’s death.
