LEXINGTON (AP) — The Kentucky medical examiner’s office has determined asphyxiation to be the official cause of death of a part-time census worker who was found with a rope around his neck in an eastern Kentucky cemetery.
The Lexington Herald-Leader reported the conclusion on its Web site Wednesday.
The medical examiner’s office had previously said preliminary autopsy results indicated 51-year-old William Sparkman died of asphyxiation.
Sparkman was also a substitute teacher and had received chemotherapy for non-Hodgkins lymphoma. He was found tied to a tree in a remote Appalachian forest on Sept. 12, and the Clay County coroner said “fed” was written on his chest, apparently in felt tip pen.
Kentucky State Police have said they haven’t determined whether the death was a homicide, suicide or accident.
