By Roger McKinney
rmckinney@joplinglobe.com
COLUMBUS, Kan. — No criminal charges will be filed in the death of 47-year-old Hazel Shockley, of Columbus, Cherokee County Attorney John Bullard said Wednesday in a news release.
The decision was based on Shockley’s final autopsy report. The news release was issued jointly by Bullard and Undersheriff Kent Soucy.
Shockley’s body was found March 16 in Weir in an area popular with riders of all-terrain vehicles. She had been missing since New Year’s Eve, when she was seen at a party in Weir.
Columbus police Chief Chuck Sharp said in January that Shockley was seen in the company of a male friend at the party and was thought to have left the party around midnight. The friend told investigators that he didn’t leave with Shockley. Sharp said in January that he thought criminal activity was involved in Shockley’s death. A person of interest reportedly was questioned.
The investigation later was turned over to the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.
According to Bullard, the autopsy revealed no injury or disease that would explain Shockley’s death and determined that “drug overdose is the best explanation of the cause of death.”
Bullard wrote that the precise cause of Shockley’s death was not determined with certainty by the autopsy.
Bullard said by phone that, out of respect for the family, he would not disclose the drug or drugs found in Shockley’s system, other than to say it was not prescription medication.
The autopsy report on Wednesday was not yet on file in the court clerk’s office and therefore was not a public record. Bullard declined to provide a copy of the report.
Family responds
Shockley’s daughter, Stephanie Shockley, said in January that her mother took high dosages of medicine for back pain. She said her mother was found unconscious in her home in December with a slow heart rate and low body temperature, and was hospitalized in Joplin, Mo. The daughter was not clear about what caused her mother’s illness.
Hazel Shockley’s younger brother, Steve Shockley, on Wednesday said he was upset by the decision.
“Nobody gets in any trouble for just leaving somebody?” he said. “That doesn’t seem fair. They could have tipped off police to where the body was. It could have saved a lot of heartache. Somebody had to know she died. Somebody left her there.
“The people who did this, I would rather think this was an accident and (they) didn’t mean to hurt her. I’m sure somebody just got scared, but they could have called somebody.”
Steve Shockley, of Joplin, said his sister had severe back pain, for which she took medication, but he was unaware of what she was taking.
Bullard said by phone that all evidence in the case was examined, and that there was no direct evidence that anyone abandoned Hazel Shockley after she had died.
“It would only be speculation,” Bullard said of the scenario.
Steve Shockley said a raft of rumors in Columbus and Cherokee County followed his sister’s disappearance. The news release tried to dispel one of them.
“There have been several rumors circulating regarding the potential for foul play and the condition of Ms. Shockley when she was located,” the news release read. “We will not offer details, but will unequivocally state that the rumors regarding Ms. Shockley being kept somewhere and then placed in the location where she was found at a later date have no basis in fact.”
Steve Shockley said that aspect remains troubling.
“That seems awful strange that they couldn’t find that body in three months, and it don’t take a detective to know that,” he said.
Missing car
Hazel Shockley’s car was found near Oswego, Kan., a few weeks after her disappearance. Investigators previously had not said where the car was found, but Cherokee County Attorney John Bullard confirmed the information Wednesday.
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