That investigation is continuing, according to police, but the case file and evidence has been turned over to Montgomery County officials for prosecution consideration, according to Maj. Mark Hoffman.
Officers found Coleman’s body on March 28 at a residence in the 2200 block of Carolina Street, but detectives believed early in the investigation that he may have been dead four days prior to the discovery. The Dayton VA employee who was assisting Coleman documented that he spoke with him the day before his body was found and visited him on March 25.
In the initial investigation, the Butler County Coroner’s Office indicated the date of death may have been on March 23 or 24, according to police. But determining an exact time of death is not as easy or clear cut as one might believe.
“Initial indication was there was a time of death given, but as the investigation continued to progress, that estimation of time of death changed, which may have put his ( the health care worker) visit outside the window we are looking at,” Hoffman said. Thus, proving any charge of patient abuse in Middletown may not be possible.
“We haven’t closed the door completely,” Hoffman said.
Butler County Coroner Dr. Lisa Mannix said determining the case of death is “not like on television.”
Many factors are considered, including the history surrounding the person, such as phone calls made, emails sent, tweets, Facebook posts and the last people to talk to them.
The condition of the body, including stages of rigor mortis and decomposition, are also considered. But even in measuring those post death stages, humidity, temperature and location are all factors, according to Mannix.
The coroner said Coleman’s death was natural and he died of heart disease, but pinpointing a more specific time and date of death may not be possible.
Coleman was 62 years old when he died, according to his sister, Diana Pearson. She said she saw photos of her brother’s body, which she described as “decomposing and mummified.”
“Obviously, the case manager did not do what he needed to do,” Pearson said in an interview in January. “Makes me angry… My parents are devastated with his death.”
Ted Froats, a spokesman for the Dayton VA, said in January the agency had launched its own internal investigation into the matter. Froats said the employee is currently detailed to a job that does not require face-to-face patient interaction while the police, OIG and Dayton VA investigations continue.
He did not respond to an inquiry seeking an update on the status of the internal investigation.
But Agent Gavin McClaren, with the VA’s criminal investigations division who is assisting with the case said, “it is still an ongoing investigation. We are still pursuing it.”
McClaren said the case will be handled by police and prosecutors in Montgomery County.
Pearson said she met with Middletown police last week and she too was told the case had been sent to Montgomery County for prosecution.
This article contains previous reporting by staff writer Lot Tan.
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