Coroner rules Casey Goodson Jr.’s death a homicide, says he was shot in torso
Franklin County Coroner Dr. Anahi Ortiz made the preliminary autopsy public's findings in a statement on Wednesday
An autopsy revealed that Casey Goodson Jr. died of multiple gunshot wounds and was ruled a homicide by the local coroner.
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A press release shared by the Franklin County coroner, Dr. Anahi M. Ortiz, listed details of a preliminary autopsy as the family, their legal team, and law enforcement attempt to uncover the truth in the tragic shooting death. According to the memo, Goodson died by homicide.
“Casey Goodson was pronounced on December 4, 2020. An autopsy was performed on December 8, 2020. Based on findings from the autopsy and medical death investigation, manner of death is homicide,” the release reads.
The results are not the final autopsy findings. The office shared the projected time-frame for a final report, expected to be issued in the months to come.
“Cause of death, at this time, is preliminary; we are awaiting medical records as well as the toxicology report. However, based on the current findings, cause of death is multiple gunshot wounds to the torso. We anticipate a final report in approximately 12 to 14 weeks,” the statement finished.
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theGrio reported the Columbus Division of Police was investing the shooting instead of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. The BCI refused to take the case, citing too much time passed between the shooting and the referral to the agency.
“BCI has an existing MOU (memorandum of understanding) with CPD, as they know that BCI is their first call when an incident occurs,” read a statement according to the report. “BCI is the first call because we cannot be the subject matter experts unless we’re on the scene from the beginning to document the evidence of what happened from the start. Three days later after the crime scene has been dismantled and the witness(es) have all dispersed does not work.”
Ohio State University basketball player Seth Towns was a childhood friend of Goodson. On Twitter, he shared a thread about their relationship and about who Casey Goodson was as a person.
“Broken hearted this morning to learn that a young man I grew up with and one of the most kind-hearted people I’ve ever known, Casey Goodson, was killed by a Columbus Police veteran and current US Marshal yesterday,” he wrote on Twitter.
Towns kneeled for the National Anthem ahead of the matchup between the Buckeyes and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Tuesday in protest.
According to USA Today, the FBI joined the investigation. Alongside the FBI, the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice and the Columbus Police Critical Incident Response Team will “review the facts and circumstances” the outlet reported.
Columbus police said they would investigate whether or not SWAT deputy Jason Meade was justified in his shooting. The FBI and U.S. Attorney’s office will investigate if any federal civil rights laws were violated.
“I believe a federal investigation is warranted,” said U.S. Attorney David DeVillers, according to the report.
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