2005-01-22 2
Web-posted Saturday, January 22, 2005
Wagner autopsy shows no foul play
Police say drowning possible cause of death
By GREG CUNNINGHAM
greg.cunningham@amarillo.com
Amarillo Globe-News
Kelly Wagner: Autopsy results indicate that foul play was likely not involved in her death. Police found the body of the 28-year-old professional photographer Thursday at Lawrence Lake.
Body Found: Robin and Sloan Kritser visit with Sgt. Mark Brown after identifying the body of Kelly Katherine Wagner on Thursday.
Henry Bargas / henry.bargas@amarillo.com
An autopsy conducted on the body of Kelly Katherine Wagner on Friday afternoon revealed no signs of trauma or foul play.
Lt. Gary Trupe, coordinator of the Potter-Randall Special Crimes Unit, said preliminary autopsy results seem to indicate foul play was not involved in the death of Wagner, whose body was recovered Thursday from Lawrence Lake after the 28-year-old had been missing for about three weeks.
"Right now, it looks like there were no outside forces that caused an injury," Trupe said. "Normally, you'd look for things like bullet wounds, stab wounds, blunt force trauma or strangulation, but nothing they can find indicates that an outside person or source caused any injury."
Trupe said drowning is a possible cause of death, but no official determination will be made until toxicology and microscopic examinations are completed, which can take six weeks.
Wagner went missing sometime about Dec. 27, when she missed a family dinner that was held to celebrate her birthday. Her vehicle was found Jan. 2 in the parking lot of the Peppertree Terrace Apartments, 2601 S. Linda Circle. A window of the Land Rover had been broken out, but items in the car were not stolen.
Trupe said investigators still don't know how the window got broken, but he pointed out that the vehicle was sitting unattended in the lot for several days, apparently with the dome light on for much of that time.
Dogs trained to find bodies were brought to Lawrence Lake on Thursday, less than a half mile from where the vehicle was found, and the Amarillo Police Department dive team recovered Wagner's body.
Trupe said he had heard reports that the lake level had dropped since investigators first checked out the area, which could have made finding the body easier.
Even though foul play is unlikely, special crimes will keep the case and continue to try to find out what happened to Wagner, Trupe said. Investigators are looking for anybody who saw Wagner on or after Dec. 27 to help them piece together what happened to her.
"For the family, I'd like to figure out how she got into the lake," Trupe said. "Maybe somebody out there could fill in any gaps. I don't think we've been able to answer that question of how she got from point A to point B."
Anyone with information should contact special crimes at 378-9468.
Services for Wagner are scheduled for 2 p.m. today at First Presbyterian Church.