When 17-year-old Vanessa Webb died unexpectedly, some of her organs were donated to Lifebanc, before the Lorain, Ohio coroner performed an autopsy to determine the cause of the young woman’s unexpected death. Naturally, her family was distraught.
Vanessa’s mother, Jennifer Stewart, told WKYC Investigator Tom Meyer she believes the coroner had wrongly presumed that her daughter died of a drug overdose. Police had ruled out suicide or foul play. “My wishes were to find out a cause of death, and now, because of them pushing to have an organ donation, rather than an autopsy, I may never have closure,” she said.
Now 10 months since Vanessa’s death, the investigation remains open. “I think they’re buying time. I think they (the coroner) will never determine the cause of death,” said Roni Sokol, one of the attorneys who are representing the family. Sokol says a lawsuit is being prepared. “Under Ohio law, they’re not supposed to release the body to anyone until a cause of death has been determined,” she reports.
