Single-Vehicle Fatality Claims Plymouth Woman’s Life

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

A single-vehicle crash Monday evening near Grovertown claimed a Plymouth woman’s life. Cathryn Ellison, 24, of Plymouth, was westbound on 300 North just west of 1100 East, lost control of her vehicle and was ejected, according to information provided this morning by the Starke County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies responded to a report of a vehicle in a ditch. Ellison was trapped underneath it. Starke County Chief Deputy Coroner Doug O’Donnell pronounced her dead at the scene. Her official cause of death is listed as traumatic asphyxiation. Coroner Kris Rannells tells WKVI news that means the weight of the vehicle on top of her would not allow her to breathe. The Hamlet Police Department, Koontz Lake, Hamlet and Washington Township Fire Departments and the Indiana State Police assisted the Starke County Sheriff’s Office at the scene. The Indiana State Police will be reconstructing the crash.

 

Knox Woman Died of Injuries Sustained in House Fire

Posted on Author WKVI

 
 
A Knox woman whose body was found in a house fire investigation on Monday night died of injuries sustained in the incident.

Starke County Coroner Kris Rannells told WKVI that he will know more about 78-year-old Zorka Antonijevick’s cause of death when toxicology results return. Rannells will analyze carbon monoxide levels and other factors to determine a final ruling once those results are received in approximately eight weeks.

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Knox Fire Victim Identified

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

Starke County Coroner Kris Rannells has released the name of the woman who died in a Monday night house fire on State Road 10 near County Road 300 East in Knox. He’s scheduled an autopsy tomorrow in Fort Wayne to determine the cause of death for 78-year-old Zorka Antonijevick. Bass Lake Fire Chief Les Jensen says his department was called to her home at 2795 East State Road 10 in Knox around 11 Monday night and remained on the scene for 8 hours. The North Judson-Wayne Township Volunteer Fire Department was called in to assist. Jensesn says the fire started accidentally but does not want to elaborate on the specifics until an investigator from the state fire marshal’s office has a look.

Coroner Rules Out Homicide as Cause of Death for Grounds

Posted on Author WKVI
Isaiah Lincoln Grounds
Isaiah Lincoln Grounds

The Grovertown man whose body was discovered in a ditch near his home Monday was not the victim of a homicide. Starke County Coroner Kris Rannells tells WKVI news he’s awaiting preliminary autopsy results on 26-year-old Isaiah Lincoln Grounds in order to confirm his cause of death. Grounds was last seen on Monday, Dec. 9 at the Grovertown Truck Stop, and his wrecked car was reportedly found abandoned nearby. The Starke County Sheriff’s Office issued a missing person’s alert for Grounds on Thursday, Dec. 12. Rannells says the initial pathology reports will be available next week. The autopsy was conducted yesterday.

 

Tentative ID Released in Death Investigation

Posted on Author WKVI
Isaiah Lincoln Grounds
Isaiah Lincoln Grounds

Starke County Coroner Kris Rannells has stated that the person found in the Grovertown area has been tentatively identified as 26-year-old Isaiah Lincoln Grounds.

A confirmation of the person’s identity and other details will be released after a complete autopsy is conducted on Thursday.

The body was found in the Grovertown area in Starke County on Monday. Isaiah Grounds had been missing for a few weeks and the Starke County Sheriff’s Department had sent a notice out about his disappearance on Dec. 12. Grounds was reportedly last seen on Monday, Dec. 9 as he was leaving his residence at 2425 N. 1025 E. in Grovertown.

The case remains under investigation with the Starke County Coroner’s office.

Body Found, Starke County Police Investigating

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

The Starke County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a death in the Grovertown area.

Sheriff Oscar Cowen told WKVI that a body was found at a location in Grovertown around noon and that person has not yet been identified. Starke County Coroner Kris Rannells and officials at the sheriff’s department are tending to the scene and will release information as it becomes available.

The Indiana State Police will also assist in the investigation.

Starke County Council Approves Transfer for Autopsy Funds

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

The four forensic autopsies required by law this year in Starke County have put a pinch on the county coroner’s budget. Last Friday’s death of a three-week old infant required a more in-depth determination of the cause. It’s the second forensic autopsy performed this year on an infant, according to Starke County Coroner Kris Rannells. The county also conducted forensic autopsies on the pilot of a small plane who was killed when his experimental aircraft crash-landed at the Starke County Airport in July and on the victim of a February domestic homicide. Rannells says these more extensive procedures ate up more than $10,000 of his total $13,000 autopsy budget for the year. Council members approved total transfers of $4,133 into his budget with the understanding that additional funds may still be needed if more procedures are required between now and the end of the year. County officials also plan to meet informally with Rannells and other former coroners to talk about budget planning for the office.

 

Preliminary Autopsy Results Released in Starke County Plane Crash

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

The pilot whose single-engine plane crash landed at the Starke County Airport north of Knox Monday afternoon died of massive blunt-force trauma, according to the initial autopsy report. James A.W. Evans III, 68, of Stafford, Va. was en route from Virginia to Oshkosh, Wis. and was apparently stopping for fuel when his plane crashed at the south end of the runway around 3 p.m.. He suffered massive head, neck, chest and internal injuries, according to Starke County Coroner Kris Rannells, who says a final autopsy report will be made after histology and toxicology tests are complete.

Starke County Coroner Releases Plane Crash Victim’s Name

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

The pilot of the single-engine plane that crash landed at the Starke County Airport Monday afternoon has been identified. James A.W. Evans III, 68, of Stafford, Va. appeared to die instantly, according to Starke County Coroner Kris Rannells. An autopsy is scheduled later today to confirm his cause of death. Evans was en route from Virginia to Oshkosh, Wis., stopped in Knox for fuel and crashed at the south end of the runway around 3 p.m.. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

 

Starke County Man Dies after Trees Falls on Him

Posted on Author WKVI

A Knox man died Sunday while cutting down trees.

Starke County Coroner Kris Rannells confirmed that John A. Nolen, Sr. was cutting down trees with his nephew Sunday afternoon when a tree fell on him and trapped him underneath it. Nolen was attempting to guide the tree with a rope as his nephew cut the trunk when it fell.

Starke County Emergency Medical Services and responders from the Bass Lake Fire Department arrived at the scene at an area east of Starke County on 400 South, but Nolen had already died of his injuries. The Starke County Sheriff’s Department and the Starke County Coroner conducted an investigation and Coroner Rannells found that 69-year-old John Nolen, Sr. died instantly at the scene of blunt force trauma.

Foul Play Not Suspected in Death of Bass Lake Man

Posted on Author WKVI

Foul play is not suspected in the death of a Bass Lake man who was found dead in his home Saturday morning. Starke County Coroner Kris Rannells says they won’t have a conclusive cause of death for at least four to six weeks as the official autopsy report is compiled and processed, but he says they do not suspect foul play at this time.

The body of 52-year-old David Griffin was discovered by his brother Saturday morning when he had gone to check on Griffin because nobody had heard from him in several days. The body was found in a Bass Lake home and was reported to be badly decomposed, indicating that he had been deceased for some time.

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Identity of Deceased Bass Lake Man Released; Cause of Death Not Yet Announced

Posted on Author WKVI

The identity of the deceased man discovered in a Bass Lake home has been released. Starke County Coroner Kris Rannells says 52-year-old David Griffin was found dead inside his residence by his brother, who had gone to check on him because nobody had heard from Griffin in some time.

The Starke County Sheriff’s Department, Starke County Coroner, Indiana State Police, and LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department all responded to the scene to conduct investigations. A forensic autopsy was performed yesterday at the Northeast Indiana Forensic Center in Fort Wayne, although no cause or manner of death has been announced.

Rannells says the cause of death will be released when the autopsy report is finalized, but he noted that there does not appear to be any signs of foul play regarding Griffin’s death. The man was found dead in a Bass Lake home Saturday morning, and the body was said to be badly decomposed.

Authorities Not Ready to Release Identity of Driver in Fatal Accident

Posted on Author WKVI
Knox City Police and first responders tend to an accident at U.S. 35 and John Street in Knox

Authorities are not yet ready to release the name of the driver of a vehicle who died in a Monday morning accident on U.S. 35 and John Street in Knox. Notification of the next of kin has to be made before that information can be released.

Starke County Coroner Kris Rannells and Forensic Pathologist Dr. Alan Griggs performed an autopsy Tuesday on the victim in Lafayette and confirmed that the driver of the passenger vehicle had a heart attack prior to the accident and died as a result of injuries sustained in the accident. The driver suffered a torn aorta.

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Knox City Police Continue with Death Investigation

Posted on Author WKVI

Knox City Police Department detectives continue to investigate the death of 59-year-old Bertha Clabaugh, of Knox. Police were called to the Oak Valley Apartments in Knox on Friday on a report that she was unresponsive. She was later pronounced dead at the scene.

An autopsy was conducted Friday and detectives are waiting on the pathology report and toxicology report to make a determination in the case. Starke County Coroner, Kris Rannells, said those results will probably not be available for 10 weeks. Detectives still indicate that no foul play is suspected.

Starke County Coroner Completes Autopsy in Drowning Incident

Posted on Author WKVI

Starke County Coroner Kris Rannells has released the preliminary autopsy report on the victim of the drowning incident in Knox early Sunday morning.

Rannells said preliminary cause of death is being ruled as asphyxiation because of drowning.  Mercan Lyncook, of Parma, Ohio, drowned after jumping off the abandoned train bridge near the historic Depot located on State Road 35.

Tragic Accident Claims Life of Illinois Woman

Posted on Author WKVI

A tragic auto accident occurred Sunday afternoon at the intersection of State Road 10 and State Road 35 in Starke County. Police found that Megan Smithson, 19, of Illinois, stopped at the intersection and pulled out onto US 35 and into the path of a vehicle driven by Tony Wagner, 37, of Winamac.  Smithson was pronounced dead at the scene by Starke County Coroner, Kris Rannells.

Wagner was transported to Starke Memorial Hospital and airlifted to South Bend Memorial for leg injuries sustained in the accident.  An 18-year-old passenger in Smithson’s vehicle was also airlifted to South Bend Memorial due to injuries suffered in the accident.  The Bass Lake Fire Department and Starke County EMS assisted the Starke County Sheriff’s Department at the scene.