Investigation continues into GHS student death
Twenty-seven days have passed since family members discovered the body of 17-year-old Dietrich Jackson, yet police are releasing few details about their investigation into the death of the Greencastle High School senior.
An autopsy was performed on Dec. 17, 2007 but no cause of death was determined, pending toxicology results that were delivered to Putnam County Coroner Thomas Miller on Friday. According to Miller, he will prepare a full report this week and make at least portions of those results public on Jan. 14 or 15.
According to Miller, his office is conducting its own investigation into Jackson's death that is completely independent from that of law enforcement. Though the two agencies share information, Miller says the coroner's office is limited to determining a cause of death and his findings do not always reflect whether criminal charges are filed.
"My investigation is to document the truth and facts surrounding someone's death," the coroner said. "We need some answers, but we have not approached that yet because we don't want to affect the integrity of any law enforcement investigation."
Indiana State Police Detective Jeff Hearon was able to confirm that his department had received results from the toxicology report, but would not release any more information due to the ongoing investigation. Hearon says he is sensitive to community concern regarding the investigation and hopes to share more information at week's end.