Police say CNY native died of suicide but family thinks it was a homicide.
Standing on the Morris' dock on the Oneida River in Clay are Kelly Osborn (Sheena's mom, holding her picture), Dave Morris (Sheena's dad) and Lisa Lane, (Dave's girlfriend, helped raise Sheena) in this April 2010 file photo. Dave and Lisa are holding Sheena's "babies", Yorkshire terriers Encore and Chloe. Sheena Morris was 22 when she found hung in her shower in Tampa, Fla. on Jan. 9, 2009. Police say it was a suicide but parents think it was a homicide. Clay, NY -- David Morris and Kelly Osborn have been waiting for this day for a year and a half.
Forensic Pathologist Michael Baden today will perform a second autopsy on the body of their daughter Sheena Morris, whose death was ruled a suicide in January 2009. The family disagrees and has devoted the last 18 months to trying to figure out what happened.
Sheena Morris, who was born and raised in Central New York, attended schools in Liverpool, North Syracuse and Phoenix. She moved to Tampa, Fla., in 2005, said her mother, who lives in Tampa with her husband. David Morris lives in Clay.
“Today is bitter sweet,” David Morris said Wednesday when Morris’ body was exhumed. “We’ve been working towards this. We knew it wasn’t going to be a pleasant day, but I’m happy it’s here. We just want answers.”
Sheena MorrisBaden is a former medical examiner for New York City and former chief pathologist for the New York State Police who currently hosts the HBO cable TV show “Autopsy.” He has worked or consulted on a number of high profile cases including the death of John F. Kennedy, the O.J. Simpson trial, John Belushi’s death and Sid Vicsiou’s death, among others.
“We are only going to do this once so we wanted to hire the best,” David Morris said.
Morris was 22 when she was found hanged to death on New Year’s Day 2009 in the bathroom of her hotel room in Bradenton Beach, Fla., hours after a reported argument with her fiance. The Bradenton Beach Department declared Morris’ death a suicide and the case is closed pending further information.
The family hired a private investigator because they believe there were too many unanswered questions, Osborn said. They also held benefits in New York and Florida to help raise money to exhume Morris’ body for the second autopsy.
“With everyone’s support from Central New York to Tampa, we were able to raise the money for this day to become a reality,” Osborn said.
Morris’ body was exhumed under the care of Krueger Funeral Home, who donated their services to the family.
Osborn said she understands that the results of the autopsy could be inconclusive or show that Morris did commit suicide.
“We just want proof that it was a suicide,” she said. “The police need proof that it was a homicide and we need proof that it was a suicide. We want answers.”
Morris’s body will be reburied on Friday. The family is holding a ceremony for friends and family at 1 p.m. at Our Lady of Peace Cemetery in Clay.
David Morris said the family plans to meet with Baden in Albany today. He did not know how long it would take to get the results of the autopsy.
“I hope we’ll finally get some closure on this,” David Morris said. “We want to know one way or another. We want just answers.”