To the Editor:

On the morning of January 8th, 2021, a young man just shy of his 27th birthday, died an unexpected death in my hometown. An autopsy was performed that afternoon. Three days later, more than two weeks prior to knowing toxicology testing results, the manner of death was certified by a county coroner as suicide with four chemicals listed under the cause of lethal intoxication.

Suicide is a tragedy that touches too many. Community awareness of the issue relies on the accuracy of mortality statistics to develop effective prevention strategies. Death certificates are the primary source of these statistics and their accuracy is based entirely on the integrity and thoroughness of death investigations.

Operational criteria for determining suicide provided by the CDC requires evidence of two things: that the causative injury was self-inflicted and that it was intentional. The difficulty of evidencing intentionality makes suicide particularly susceptible to inaccurate determination.

On the date that the cause and manner of this young man’s death were certified, no compelling evidence was present to support either determination. The resident of the house in which the injury occurred (“friend’s apartment" on the death certificate) is the singular source of information regarding the circumstances of the incident. This person, who is of material witness interest to the case, remarkably appears (with an alternate surname than that identified in first responder notes) as “next of kin” and “life partner” on a hospital document for the decedent, with an address listed that is, in fact, the address of the young man’s mother.

The county sheriff’s office was responsible for the investigation of the young man’s death two years ago. The detective claims to have viewed a suicide note in the form of a final social media post that the non credible witness alleges to have been made by the young man. That report also describes the uncooperative nature of this witness in refusing to turn over any belongings, wallet, identification or phone of the young man. The alleged “suicide note” has never been documented or verified.

One need not be Nancy Drew to suspect the true manner of death in this case is more sinister than the tragic one officially ruled. And one need not be the Hardy Boys to recognize the egregious incompetence displayed by law enforcement is not like the bumbling antics of TV’s fictional Hazzard County, but terrifyingly like the real life story of Mississippi Burning.

Therese Miner
Potsdam