This week North Carolina’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner released the autopsy report for Christina “Kristin” Bennett whose body was found in an abandoned home in east Lumberton on April 18, 2017. The autopsy could not determine a cause of death.
After a follow-up request from News13, the release of the report came days after the release of autopsy reports for Rhonda Jones whose body was found nearby on the same day and for Megan Oxendine whose body was found about three blocks away on June 3, 2017. A spokesperson for the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the Medical Examiner’s Office, could not give a reason why Bennett’s report was not released along with reports for the other two women.
Bennett’s body was found inside a home at 505 Peachtree St. While the autopsy results may have been available to investigators shortly after the autopsy, the results are not released until the criminal investigation is deemed complete. Medical examiner Karen Warwick conducted the autopsy exam on April, 19, 2017, and she signed the investigation report on April 30, 2017. Toxicology results returned on June 15, 2017 – about eight weeks after Bennett’s body was found. The final review/release of the autopsy was signed and dated August 30, 2018.
According to the autopsy, the naked body of Bennett, 32, was found covered in a blanket inside of a television cabinet in the abandoned home on Peachtree Street. The body was in a mild state of decomposition the report said. For example, decomposition was shown in the absence of skin, exposing the scalp, in the area above and behind Bennett’s right ear.
“No significant pre-existing natural disease was documented,” the report said. “No obvious external or internal injuries were identified, though evaluation was limited by changes of decomposition.”
Toxicology results showed trace amounts of:
- cocaine
- benzoylecgonine (metabolite of cocaine)
- cocaethylene (created in the presence of cocaine and ethanol)
- gabapentin (a nerve pain medication)
- Nicotine
The report said while the drugs could explain the death, a connection could not be made with certainty. Since there were no obvious signs of injury, the possibility of suffocation could not be ruled out either. However, there was no indication of any particular cause of death.
“Based on the available investigative findings to date, autopsy findings, toxicology results, and circumstances surrounding the death, as currently understood, at this time, the cause and manner of death are best classified as undetermined,” the report concluded.
In January of 2018, the FBI announced a reward of up to $30,000 for information that helps determine the circumstances that led to the deaths of Bennett, Jones. and Oxendine. Agents have gone door to door in the area asking people to come forward with any information in the case.