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Articles Tagged With ‘death investigations’




Deputies identified Nipomo man as person who fell off Pirate’s Cove cliff and died

Written on 22 Jun, 2023 in Daily Briefs, Featured | No comments

By JOSH FRIEDMAN The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Unit has identified Francisco Javier Velasco Garcia, 33, of Nipomo as the person who died Wednesday after falling off a cliff at Pirate’s Cove. Witnesses said, at about 6 p.m,... (Continue reading)

SLO sheriff hires full-time coroner to replace embattled examiner

Written on 13 Sep, 2017 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 14 comments

The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office has replaced its embattled medical examiner with a full-time forensic pathologist who is moving to the Central Coast. Over the last couple years, former SLO County medical examiner Gary Walter came under scrutiny... (Continue reading)

SLO County coroner’s findings questioned again

Written on 21 Aug, 2017 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 9 comments

San Luis Obispo County’s embattled medical examiner has again come under scrutiny for a questionable cause of death ruling, this time pertaining to a young woman he says died of an LSD overdose. Over the last couple years, CalCoastNews reported... (Continue reading)

Man asked to go to hospital before dying in SLO County Jail

Written on 23 Jun, 2017 in Daily Briefs | 9 comments

A 60-year-old San Luis Obispo man who died in SLO County Jail in April requested to go to the hospital about 45 minutes before he was found dead, according to a newly released coroner’s report. Rather than being taken to... (Continue reading)

Santa Maria man kills himself in jail

Written on 17 Oct, 2016 in Daily Briefs, Featured | No comments

A 38-year-old Santa Maria man allegedly killed himself Sunday, just 53 days before he was slated to be released from the Santa Barbara County Jail, according to county officials. Shortly after 4:30 p.m., correctional deputies found Hector Higareda unresponsive inside his... (Continue reading)

DNA from 1973 California killings leads to arrests

Written on 14 Sep, 2016 in Daily Briefs, Featured | No comments

Authorities have arrested two men for the 1973 slayings of two Northern California girls who were 12 and 13 years old at the time of their deaths. Semen that was found on one of the victims matched the DNA of... (Continue reading)

Dystiny Myers killer committed suicide

Written on 7 Jul, 2016 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 7 comments

Cody Miller, one of the five people convicted in the brutal killing of runaway Santa Maria teen Dystiny Myers, committed suicide, the Kern County coroner has ruled. Miller, 25, was found dead in his Tehachapi prison cell last month. [Tribune]... (Continue reading)

Creston baby drowned at the hands of her mother

Written on 29 Apr, 2016 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 3 comments

A newborn baby who died in a bathtub shortly after birth on Saturday drowned at the hands of her mother, according to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Coroner’s Office. The mother also died on Saturday, and the cause of... (Continue reading)

Solvang woman acquitted of murdering her daughter

Written on 22 Mar, 2016 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 4 comments

Less than a month after declaring a mistrial, a Santa Maria judge reversed his ruling, freeing a 90-year-old Solvang woman who was accused of murdering her terminally ill daughter. In 2013, Solvang resident Heidi Good died at the age of... (Continue reading)

Mistrial declared in murder case of elderly Solvang woman

Written on 24 Feb, 2016 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 4 comments

A Santa Maria judge declared a mistrial Tuesday in the case of a 90-year-old Solvang woman who is accused of murdering her terminally ill daughter. The mistrial occurred, in part, because jurors watched media coverage of a separate verdict in... (Continue reading)