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Alleged murder victim died of heart failure
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Posted on Oct 16 2020
It has been determined that the alleged “murder victim” in Chalan Kanoa actually died of natural causes and an autopsy has ruled out foul play.
According to Department of Public Safety spokesperson Dre Pangelinan, the alleged murder that happened in the village of Chalan Kanoa two weeks ago is merely a rumor.
“The CNMI Department of Public Safety has been made recently aware of a social media post regarding a murderer on the loose in the village of Chalan Kanoa. This post is false and misleading,” he said in a press statement last Wednesday.
A bruise found on the deceased individual’s face has been determined to be not enough to have caused the person’s death, according to the autopsy.
Pangelinan said that eight days following the report of the individual’s death, Dr. Phillip Dauterman did the autopsy at the Commonwealth Health Center morgue. “On Tuesday, Sept. 22, DPS requested for a toxicology report through the Office of the Attorney General. After consulting with the chief prosecutor, an autopsy was suggested to rule out any foul play. The autopsy was conducted on Sept. 24. On Sept. 26, DPS officers in charge of the case met with Dr. Dauterman in regards to the findings. [He] concluded that the individual had died of natural causes due to heart failure,” he said.
As for allegations that the individual’s face had been beaten, the autopsy concluded that the bruise on the forehead “was not enough to be a cause of death,” Pangelinan said.
On Sept. 16, at about 10:34pm, DPS received a call regarding an unresponsive individual in the village of Chalan Kanoa. Police officers who were dispatched to the scene met with the victim’s son, who stated that they noticed their father lying outside their door and thought the victim was just drunk.
After realizing that the victim had no pulse, he called for emergency assistance. Police and emergency medical personnel responded to the scene. The case was handed to the Criminal Investigative Bureau for further investigation. (Kimberly A. Bautista)
