UT UT - Shannon Shepardson, 44, Moab, 29 Oct 2008

I'm not getting the autopsy ruling and how the manner of death could not be homicide. Sure she was an alcoholic, but certainly she didn't beat herself up. IMO, chronic alcoholism may have made her unable to recover from her injuries, but the beating put her in the hospital to begin with. ETA: records show she wasn't drunk when admited to the hospital.

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_12904554

Shannon Shepardson's family believes the 44-year-old Moab woman was murdered.
Grand County Sheriff James Nylan isn't so sure, but continues to investigate.
Among the case's troubling aspects is that the autopsy report is inconclusive.
What is clear, however, is that Shepardson had suffered two broken bones in her left leg and other blunt-force trauma to the head and arms by the time she was found unconscious on the driveway at her ex-boyfriend's house on the morning of Oct. 29.
Her death has raised alarm in Moab, where more than 50 friends, family and townsfolk recently marched from Swanny City Park to the Sheriff's Office carrying placards demanding "Justice for Shannon."

More at link.

Sounds familiar. Her boyfriend wouldn't happen to be a cop was he?

Ok, now I've read the article and I agree with you SuziQ. Even if the beating didn't directly cause the death, it seems like the death may have happened during the commission of an assault. I thought that if a death was precipatated as a result of a felony that their was grounds for a murder charge? Like if someone holds up a bank, and someone in the bank dies of a heart attack it was grounds for murder. Even though the cause of death was a heart attack.

This looks like her facebook
http://www.facebook.com/people/Shannon-Shepardson/1837107810

A previous article:

snip...Officially, Shannon Shephardson died from complications of chronic alcoholism, but she had numerous injuries. Investigators believe she fell down the stairs, but her supporters say someone killed her.

snip.... But Grand County Sheriff Jim Nyland insists his investigators are still working on the 9-month-old case.

"Right now, those injuries, none of them were life-threatening. They were all superficial. We have a case where there was a lot of alcohol abuse," Nyland said.
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=7166094

Sounds like a homicide to me.

Thanks for posting that article mysteriew. I sure would love to read the autopsy and medical records. Another snip.


"Bruise on her forehead; and her back, contusion. She had bruises all over her arms and legs," Nicol said.
Shephardson's leg was fractured in two places.
"The family's being told that my sister, she fell down a set of stairs, which caused her injuries, and that she's also died of chronic alcoholism," said Shephardson's sister, Shauna Jones.
The stairs in question are three concrete steps at the front door of the home -- a significant distance from the front of the driveway where Shannon was found. "That is impossible for that to be the scenario that the law enforcement agency has come up with here in town," Jones said.

I just can't see that much damage occurring with falling on three steps. Both front and back damage, as well as the extremeties. And a leg broken in two (2) places???

mysteriew said:

I just can't see that much damage occurring with falling on three steps. Both front and back damage, as well as the extremeties. And a leg broken in two (2) places???

Click to expand...

ITA. and then make it to the end of the driveway? They sound like my front steps that I've tumbled down a couple of times. I don't think I've even gotten a scrape.

An extremity broken once, along with some scrapes and brusies on one side of her body I could see. But front, back and head along with breaking a leg bone (one of the stronger bones in the body) twice??

Chronic alcoholism might have weakened her bones allowing for one break. But two breaks?

I think cops just look at the history of all the calls, they keep talking about her history of alcoholism I think they just want this one to go away.

mysteriew said:

An extremity broken once, along with some scrapes and brusies on one side of her body I could see. But front, back and head along with breaking a leg bone (one of the stronger bones in the body) twice??

Chronic alcoholism might have weakened her bones allowing for one break. But two breaks?

I think cops just look at the history of all the calls, they keep talking about her history of alcoholism I think they just want this one to go away.

Click to expand...

I agree mysteriew. I don't think she's the kind of victim they feel sympathetic for and are not willing to go all out to solve this. I think the reason is, is because many men look down on female heavy drinkers.

Also one article mentioned there were fibers from the carpet at his house embedded in her hair. And she had virtually NO alcohol in her system at the time.

This case is really ticking me off.

I think if I was family I would be getting some pictures of those steps, and taking those and the autopsy report to another physician (preferably one with some forensic training or experience) and ask some questions. Of course LE may be holding back on the autopsy report at this time.

Bumping for Shannon...it's now been 12 years.