Found Deceased WA - Cheryl DeBoer, 54, Mountlake Terrace, 8 February 2016 #8

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ANZAC said:
I had missed the link buried inside that HeraldNet article previously (hard to see the highlight), it links to a NIH article based on suicide cases in King County (adjacent to south of Snohomish county). Apologies if someone noted this before, but it seems quite relevant.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8947355

Here is the abstract (BBM):
Fifty-three suicides using plastic bags were identified in a review of cases within the jurisdiction of the King County Medical Examiner's Office, Seattle, Washington from 1984 to 1993. We found that this method was used at a greater frequency by individuals older than 50 in comparison with other methods. The most commonly identified stressor leading to the suicide in this population was failing health. The use of this method as a means of "self deliverance," as advocated by the Hemlock Society, could be inferred in only a small minority of cases where terminal illnesses were identified. This method may be preferred by those older than 50 years because of the ready availability of plastic bags and the relative nonviolence of the death. Analysis of the autopsy findings showed no specific features for this method of suicide. In particular, petechiae, which are often considered a marker of asphyxia, were present in only a small minority of cases (3%). Furthermore, the scene investigation rarely revealed specific features, other than the plastic bag in place. Thus, if the plastic bag were removed after death, the cause and manner of death would be obscure
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Very interesting. I know Cheryl doesn't fit every single statistic, but I don't imagine many do. Of note to me is that the manner of death would be obscure.
It doesn't take 10 seconds to asphyxiate someone. A healthy adult is not going to just stand there and let someone put a bag on their heads
for minutes without kicking up a fuss.There were no ligature marks and there weren't any drugs that came up on the toxicology that would indicate she was immobilized.
I just read a case where the death was from asphyxiation. There were over 40 defensive wounds to the body. (bruises/scrapes etc) The victim was much younger than Cheryl, a teen, but Cheryl looked
strong and healthy to me. I think she'd have fought if someone did this to her. Even infants and small children that have been asphyxiated tend to have some defensive bruises from their struggle.

On top of all that, murder just isn't logical to me. If someone wanted to murder Cheryl and make this look like a suicide, why not make her pass out with the bag, slit her wrists with the razor that was right there, then remove the bag and be done with it?
Why leave it so ambiguous? The tools for what would appear to be a clear cut suicide were RIGHT THERE!

I think that Cheryl did not want to do this in her home for her family to find her. I think she planned on using the razor blades but when she made the tentative cuts she got scared and backed out with that method and decided to use the bag that she had
on hand. I think she must have been in pain that no one knew about, people can hide a lot from those they love to not upset them. As far as the animal blood, she hunted but I really don't have a theory on that without knowing how much, where, or what kind of animal. I don't think there is a killer walking around with jars of animal blood to dump in their victims car. It wasn't necessary to do that to stage the suicide if that was their goal. Anyone clever enough to stage such an elaborate scene would know the blood they dumped in her car would be found to be of animal origin, and that it would appear strange and not lend itself well to a suicide theory.

Suicide is still such a taboo and so very misunderstood, it's a shame. I feel like there is an outdated belief/stigma that remains that a person who commits suicide is "selfish". That makes people argue vehemently against the
theory in many cases I follow. Even the mention of suicide as a theory causes some to think the victim is being dishonored in some way.

I really hope the family gets closure soon. Losing someone is hard enough, but it would be hard to find closure without knowing what happened. She seems like a wonderful person.
 
I think of Cheryl and her family often.
May they be held in her loving arms in their hearts.
 
I believe Snohomish County medical examiner will be publicly releasing manner of death in the next few days. I will be back to post once Media gets their heyday with the released information.

Thanks for all the support and interest into the investigation.
 
stryker, I think about your mom often. I wish you and your family every possible comfort and above all, peace.
 
stryker57 said:
I believe Snohomish County medical examiner will be publicly releasing manner of death in the next few days. I will be back to post once Media gets their heyday with the released information.

Thanks for all the support and interest into the investigation.
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You are more than welcome for the support.

I read yesterday that Fred Hutch placed memorial tiles in honor of Cheryl. When I watch the Mariner's games I see the Fred Hutch sign on the fence and I always think of Cheryl.

Best wishes.
 
The memorial tiles are actually purchased, and proceeds go to support cancer/HIV research. Her coworkers pooled their money to purchase one, and the second one was purchased with the remainder of the funds from the Go Fund Me account which many of her coworkers also contributed to.
 
What a lovely tribute to your mom, Stryker! I still think of you, your mom & family often
 
stryker57 said:
I believe Snohomish County medical examiner will be publicly releasing manner of death in the next few days. I will be back to post once Media gets their heyday with the released information.

Thanks for all the support and interest into the investigation.
Click to expand...

Stryker, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family as this information settles into each of you. It has been a long difficult wait for an answer I am sure is disturbing, however not unexpected. Unwanted, yes, unbelievable, most definitely, and the biggest question of why, unexplainable.

Having sons your age, I can only imagine your loss, heartbreak, and questions. I am sending you a big hug. From a mother's view, know that whatever was upsetting to your Mom, she felt that sharing it would cause too much turmoil.

Remember her for all the loving moments you shared, the fantastic laughs and giggles she created, and those special looks and words of love. Share these beautiful memories with your son so he grows up knowing this wonderful woman who raised his daddy. Much love and comfort to you and yours.
 
jbelle said:
Very interesting. I know Cheryl doesn't fit every single statistic, but I don't imagine many do. Of note to me is that the manner of death would be obscure.
It doesn't take 10 seconds to asphyxiate someone. A healthy adult is not going to just stand there and let someone put a bag on their heads
for minutes without kicking up a fuss.There were no ligature marks and there weren't any drugs that came up on the toxicology that would indicate she was immobilized.
I just read a case where the death was from asphyxiation. There were over 40 defensive wounds to the body. (bruises/scrapes etc) The victim was much younger than Cheryl, a teen, but Cheryl looked
strong and healthy to me. I think she'd have fought if someone did this to her. Even infants and small children that have been asphyxiated tend to have some defensive bruises from their struggle.

On top of all that, murder just isn't logical to me. If someone wanted to murder Cheryl and make this look like a suicide, why not make her pass out with the bag, slit her wrists with the razor that was right there, then remove the bag and be done with it?
Why leave it so ambiguous? The tools for what would appear to be a clear cut suicide were RIGHT THERE!

I think that Cheryl did not want to do this in her home for her family to find her. I think she planned on using the razor blades but when she made the tentative cuts she got scared and backed out with that method and decided to use the bag that she had
on hand. I think she must have been in pain that no one knew about, people can hide a lot from those they love to not upset them. As far as the animal blood, she hunted but I really don't have a theory on that without knowing how much, where, or what kind of animal. I don't think there is a killer walking around with jars of animal blood to dump in their victims car. It wasn't necessary to do that to stage the suicide if that was their goal. Anyone clever enough to stage such an elaborate scene would know the blood they dumped in her car would be found to be of animal origin, and that it would appear strange and not lend itself well to a suicide theory.

Suicide is still such a taboo and so very misunderstood, it's a shame. I feel like there is an outdated belief/stigma that remains that a person who commits suicide is "selfish". That makes people argue vehemently against the
theory in many cases I follow. Even the mention of suicide as a theory causes some to think the victim is being dishonored in some way.

I really hope the family gets closure soon. Losing someone is hard enough, but it would be hard to find closure without knowing what happened. She seems like a wonderful person.
Click to expand...

I was, and probably still am, in the murder camp. If suicide, wouldn't there be signs of trouble, in hindsight? And maybe I want, badly, for this to have been done TO Cheryl, not by her.

One of my nieces committed suicide almost ten years ago, and there were signs and indicators, in retrospect, things we explained away, or discounted, at the time. Several of us in the family couldn't accept the ruling of suicide until after we talked with the detective and the scene investigator. The lesson I learned was that if things seem off, and something occurs that is not ordinary (like three anxiety attacks that sent her to the emergency room in the months previous to her suicide), then most certainly, things are not right.

Stryker, I hope and pray you and yours can find some comfort in your memories, love well, and live with meaning and integrity.
 
I think of Stryker, Cheryl and her case often. I still do not think she put a bag over her own head in a ditch. Jmo.
 
Today's update from the Snohomish County Medical Examiner:
The Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office has updated information in the death of Cheryl D. DeBoer, 53, of Mountlake Terrace, WA, who was found deceased near 244th Street SW and Cedar Way in Mountlake Terrace on February 14, 2016. The cause of death is asphyxia due to plastic bag over head and freshwater drowning. The manner of death is Suicide
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From: http://www.snohomishcountywa.gov/198/Medical-Examiner
Accompanying police statement:
http://www.cityofmlt.com/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=126

There are no further details in the report as to how/why this manner of death was concluded other than absence of evidence to the contrary. Perhaps the media will update with further details re: lab results etc

I'm not sure if this brings any comfort for Stryker and the family, friends and colleagues of Cheryl... I join the chorus of folk here in wishing you all peace.
 
Press picking up on the ME report but no further details:

http://q13fox.com/2016/08/01/death-...yl-deboer-was-suicide-medical-examiner-rules/

http://komonews.com/news/local/officials-death-of-cheryl-deboer-ruled-suicide

Seattle Times report on accompanying statement from police:
DeBoer’s toxicology results revealed an absence of any substance that could have contributed to her death,” police said in a news release Monday. “Additionally, the autopsy did not reveal any injuries consistent with DeBoer being a victim of an assault, abduction or struggle.”
Click to expand...
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle...ke-terrace-culvert-killed-herself-police-say/
 
I just can't accept this. My heart goes out to the family. I can't even imagine how hard this news must be. :(

Sent from my SM-G928T using Tapatalk
 
eucalyptuz said:
There are no further details in the report as to how/why this manner of death was concluded other than absence of evidence to the contrary. Perhaps the media will update with further details re: lab results etc
Click to expand...

I'm interested if they will release more details but they seldom do in such cases, especially after it was ruled a suicide. Most suicides don't ever get to the media.

I haven't worked directly with the SnoCo ME but our ME doesn't just accept what the police tell them, they ask a lot of questions, push for more information etc. We just went out to gather more evidence on a cold-er case because the ME felt they still didn't have enough. I'm just hoping people here realize the generally thoughtful, thorough and careful nature of the dialog between the police and the ME. Looking at the time and effort taken this is not a "rubber stamp" result IMHO.

And to stryker, again, very sorry for your family's loss and for having to wait this long for a conclusion.
 
stryker57 said:
I believe Snohomish County medical examiner will be publicly releasing manner of death in the next few days. I will be back to post once Media gets their heyday with the released information.

Thanks for all the support and interest into the investigation.
Click to expand...
I'm so sorry.
 
Just wishing peace and love to Cheryl's family. This beautiful woman is gone from your lives and I am so incredibly sorry that this happened. Continued prayers for you all.
 
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