More tests needed in woman’s death in Pa.
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PITTSBURGH (AP) – More tests are needed to determine what caused a woman’s death that officials suggested earlier may have involved cyanide, authorities in Western Pennsylvania said.
The Allegheny County medical examiner’s office on Friday confirmed the death Wednesday of 34-year-old Nicole Kotchey of Ross Township at Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC.
Dr. Karl Williams told the Associated Press earlier that he was “concerned” about the case and was waiting for preliminary test results that could tell him if the poison was in the woman’s system. If so, other tests will have to be done to determine if there was a lethal level of poison involved, Williams said.
The medical examiner’s office said Friday night the post-mortem examination had been performed but the autopsy findings were pending further testing.
Pittsburgh media outlets reported the woman was a medical researcher at Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC. UPMC spokeswoman Susan Manko said the health network had been contacted by police Thursday night and was cooperating with investigators. She declined to release other details.
The investigation comes a week after former UPMC researcher Dr. Robert Ferrante was convicted in the cyanide poisoning death of his wife, UPMC neurologist Dr. Autumn Klein, last year. There are no indications that the deaths are related.
Williams would not say when or where the woman died, explaining he wanted to keep such information confidential until investigators know more. Authorities haven’t said what made them believe cyanide might be involved or whether any foul play is suspected.
Mike Manko, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office, said police and the medical examiner were “investigating the death of a woman in which cyanide may have played a role.”