Judge OKs exhumation in botched suicide investigation
COLUMBUS, Ind. – A Bartholomew County judge ruled Wednesday that the body of a Columbus man may be exhumed so that pathologists could perform an autopsy, after family members raised questions about the handling of his death investigation.
Judge Stephen Heimann’s ruling comes after months of protests led by Cary Owsley’s sister and son, who are skeptical about local authorities’ insistence that Owsley, 49, shot himself in the chest on April 7. An Indianapolis Star investigation over the summer also revealed numerous problems with how the case was handled.
Many in the courtroom appeared surprised that attorneys representing Bartholomew County Coroner Larry Fisher and Cary Owsley’s widow, Lisa, said at the start of the more than hourlong hearing that they would consent to having the body exhumed. Fisher initially objected to Cheryl Jackson’s request that an autopsy be performed on her brother’s body. Lisa Owsley had requested the hearing be moved to another county.
“I didn’t expect it to go as smoothly as it did,” said Ronald Sullivan Jr., director of the Criminal Justice Institute at Harvard Law School, who is representing Jackson in the case at no charge. Sullivan said his institute gets thousands of requests for representation each year and chose the Owsley case because of what he considered several obvious problems with the investigation.
Lisa Owsley left the courthouse without speaking to reporters. But one of her attorneys, Terry Coriden, told The Star his client wanted to set the record straight about what happened to her husband and put the matter behind her.
“It was consistent with what her position has always been,” he said.
Heimann said during the hearing that he wanted to reach a compromise to ensure that an autopsy was handled without the slightest appearance of a conflict of interest. Such concerns have dogged the investigation since the beginning.
During the summer, the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office suspended three deputies for their handling of Owsley’s case.
The suspensions came a week after The Star revealed a number of problems with the way sheriff’s officials handled evidence inside the home after Lisa Owsley called 911 to report that she had found her husband gasping for air and dying with a bullet wound to his chest.
The most egregious: Deputy E. DeWayne Janes’ involvement in the case.
Janes once owned the gun found near Owsley’s body, yet he was allowed to work the death investigation inside the home. He helped move the body and handle evidence, including the gun. What’s more, Janes was once married to Owsley’s wife, who said she was the only other person in the home at the time of the shooting.
Owsley’s family members say Janes’ two adult sons, who also were allowed inside the potential crime scene, had a contentious relationship with their new stepfather.
Bartholomew County Sheriff Mark Gorbett has said that, despite initial problems with the investigation, he enlisted Indiana State Police to review the case to address any concerns.
Part of that review revealed that Owsley had expressed suicidal thoughts to a friend and that his therapist had crafted a suicide prevention plan. Gorbett said the investigation conclusively showed that Owsley killed himself.
Heimann set the following parameters for the exhumation and autopsy:
• The judge would appoint an independent state-certified pathologist to perform the autopsy in Indiana in conjunction with a pathologist of Jackson’s choosing. Lisa Owsley could have one of her own there as well, should she choose to do so. The judge said he would work to ensure that his choice would be completely objective and with no ties to the Columbus investigation. He was also adamant that the pathologists would be free to come up with their own findings.
“They may or may not reach the same conclusions,” Heimann said. “It will be up to them.”
• Each party could have witnesses watch the exhumation and track the body as it is transported by a state official to the location where the autopsy is performed. Heimann said he wanted a state official, possibly a state police officer, put in charge of moving the body to ensure that there were no questions about the chain of evidence.
• The autopsy will be videotaped, but out of respect for the family, the footage will not be made public.
• The date and time that Owsley’s body is removed won’t be made public to ensure the event doesn’t draw a crowd.
• Jackson would be responsible for the costs of the exhumation, the autopsy and the reburial.
“It’s a relief,” Rose Owsley, Cary Owsley’s mother, said of the judge’s ruling. “It’s a real relief.”
The brisk weather didn’t stop at least 80 supporters of the Cary Owsley Mission for Justice campaign from rallying outside the courthouse.
Most wore neon hunter orange and camouflage, in honor of Cary Owsley’s favorite pastime this time of year, deer hunting. They carried signs that said “Autopsy = Truth” and “Why deny if it’s not a lie.”
Some shed tears as Cary Owsley’s 21-year-old son, Logan, and Jackson spoke about how much they missed him, and they thanked those at the rally for their support over the past seven months.
After the hearing, Logan Owsley said he has felt as if he were having a bad dream since the moment he got the call his father had died.
“I’m ready for it to all be over,” he said. “I’m ready to wake up any time now.”
Jackson’s brother’s birthday is Jan. 8, and she hopes by then to have an answer to the questions that have plagued her since it became apparent the sheriff’s office and the coroner botched the case. She said the family is prepared to accept whatever answers the autopsy reveals.
“We’ve always said,” she said, “the truth is in the grave.”
Call Star reporter Ryan Sabalow at (317) 444-6179. Follow him on Twitter: @RyanSabalow.
“We’ve always said,” she said, “the truth is in the grave.”
Call Star reporter Ryan Sabalow at (317) 444-6179. Follow him on Twitter: @RyanSabalow and find him at Facebook.com/ryansabalow.