Stanley Sisters ~ Indiana Teens Die Days Apart

[MuffyBee]

October 11, 2007
 
Boyfriend is charged with murder
Court papers: 1st of 2 sisters to die likely was strangled in her sleep
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071011/LOCAL/710110470/-1/LOCAL17
CENTERVILLE, Ind. -- A 19-year-old Centerville woman likely was strangled by hand as she slept in a bedroom with her boyfriend and infant daughter, court documents revealed Wednesday.
(snipped)
An autopsy revealed a large amount of bleeding in the throat and larynx, the affidavit stated. Signs of bruising in the neck area were further indications she had been strangled.
"The location of the bruising appeared as though someone had used their hands and squeezed on Stanley's throat," the affidavit noted.
"At the time of Erin Stanley's death, the only persons in the residence other than James McFarland, who by his own admission was in bed with her at the time of her death, were her parents and the couple's infant daughter," the affidavit states.
(snipped)

[MuffyBee]

Coroner: Seizure killed 2nd Centerville sister
By Ryan S. Clark
The (Richmond) Palladium-Item
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071023/LOCAL/710230447/-1/LOCAL17
Richmond, Ind. -- Kelly Stanley, the second of two teenaged sisters to be found dead in their parents' Centerville home last month, died of natural causes, the Wayne County Coroner's office said today.
]Kelly Stanley, 18, died of a seizure, Coroner Kevin Fouche said. In a written release, he added that "psychogenic (non-epileptic) seizures may be stress induced," without specifically saying that's what Kelly suffered.
Six days before she was found dead, Kelly's 19-year-old sister Erin was found unconscious in the home and died before emergency medical responders could help. Her death has been ruled a homicide by strangulation and her boyfriend has been charged in her death.
Because neither sister had been known to have health problems and because investigators initially suggested the deaths were similar in nature, many had expected Kelly's death to be ruled as a homicide.
However, initial tests were inconclusive on Kelly and more detailed tests showed no suspicious cause of death. Toxicology tests were negative, according to the coroner's office.
The findings were released late this afternoon. But some mystery still surrounds Kelly's death, at least for the public.
"We investigated her (medical) history," Fouche said. "But I cannot release what we found."
Erin Stanley's boyfriend, James H. McFarland, 23, was arrested Oct. 10 in connection with her death.
Because Kelly Stanley died of a seizure, there is no indication a homicide has been committed, Wayne County Prosecutor Mike Shipman said tonight.
"The criminal investigation has been concluded," he said. "If no homicide has been committed, we cannot prosecute a crime."
Shipman said he had not been in contact with Stanley's parents, Dale and Lonny Stanley, regarding the findings.
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   I thought earlier articles stated the sisters did NOT have a history of health problems?!

[Angiex911dsptchr]

Muffy
 TY for posting here.  It dont seem right?  A seizure...? 
 I don't buy that. IMO.
 From my experiebce at 911. Thats just me..  

[MuffyBee]

Angie, something doesn't seem right about this whole thing from the start.  I really wonder about this myself.  Did you know the call to 911 recording was useless when it was called it for her?!  When her mother called 911 in her sisters case, the recording is available.  In this case, it's said it was a malfunction.  Stranger and stranger.

[MumInOhio]

On the Record on Friday, Dr Baden says NO Way is this a seizure. He was adament about this. He said that asphyxiation and seizure would appear the same in an autopsy. Said a second autopsy should be done and more testing. I have been unable to find a transcript of Dr Baden's interview.

Something is not right here IMO!

[MuffyBee]

On the Record on Friday, Dr Baden says NO Way is this a seizure. He was adament about this. He said that asphyxiation and seizure would appear the same in an autopsy. Said a second autopsy should be done and more testing. I have been unable to find a transcript of Dr Baden's interview.

Something is not right here IMO!

I agree with you Mum.  Something isn't right with this investigation.

[MumInOhio]

From: Dr. Baden

To: Van Susteren, Greta
Sent: Sun Nov 04 14:49:28 2007
Subject: re: coroners

Greta, You raised a very basic question Friday—how could the Coroner make such an obvious mistake in ruling that the death of Drew Peterson ’s Wife #3 was Accidental Drowning rather than Homicide given the history of spousal abuse, the order of protection, the autopsy evidence of a bloody beating before drowning, and the fact that healthy sober adults don’t drown accidentally in bathtubs. The death should have been classified as a Homicide which would have triggered a full police investigation. The Accidental classification required no further investigation. Similarly, the Coroner’s classification that the second Stanley sister died of Psychogenic Epilepsy—a here-to-fore unknown cause of death—has also raised concerns about the accuracy of death certifications.
Greta, the medical investigation of murder in this country is a national disgrace. One half of all U.S.counties have elected coroners rather than medical examiners who are physicians appointed on the basis of merit. Most coroners have little or no medical or scientific background (usually required only to be a U.S. citizen of voting age) and they have the legal responsibility of determining cause and manner of unnatural deaths. About ten states do not have a single forensic pathologist in the entire state. There are 60 murders every day in the U.S.; in more than half the perpetrator will not be convicted (so much for the perfect murder–most are!!) –and in some murders innocent people may be convicted. The medical/forensic investigation of murder is very uneven in this country and is conducted according to local county or state laws.(Almost all murder is local!) Perhaps we should consider establishing a federal Forensic Sciences General position to create a bully pulpit to improve unnatural death investigation in the entire country as the Surgeon General position has been able to improve public interest and research into natural diseases such as lung cancer, heart disease and breast cancer. michael baden

 
 
 
 
 

[MuffyBee]

Father of Stanley sisters dies after illness

April 5, 2009

CENTERVILLE, Ind. - Dale A. Stanley, 52, of Centerville, whose daughters' mysterious deaths just days apart in September 2007 drew national media attention, died early Saturday at his home in Centerville after an illness, according to funeral home officials.
Erin Stanley, then 19, died at the Centerville home of her parents, Dale and Lonny Stanley. Erin's boyfriend, James McFarland, had been charged with what was believed to be a strangulation death. Those charges were recently dismissed.

Erin's younger sister, Kelly, 18, died six days later. A pathologist ruled Kelly Stanley died of a seizure.

The Stanley parents had not spoken publicly about the case except when testifying a year ago at a McFarland bond hearing.
http://www.pal-item.com/article/20090405/NEWS01/904050306