Report leaves more questions than answers
Charles Williams
Nine months after a local man drowned in a pond, state officials recently provided the results of the Dec. 18 autopsy.
Alprazolam (Xanax) and a high level of alcohol were detected in the body of 70-year-old Charles Williams, who was found in an advanced state of decomposition when he was recovered July 1 from a pond on Woodland Heights.
The amount of alprazolam in Williams’ system – 1.1 mg/dL – was stated in the autopsy report as a “high therapeutic or potentially toxic level in the blood.”
The report lated indicated that 130 mg/dL of ethanol was detected.
“While the concentrations are not high enough to be the likely cause of death in this case, the combined effects would have made the decedent inebriated and more likely fall to fall into a body of water and much less likely to be able to get himself out,” the report reads.
But another document – completed just one week after Williams was found – paints a picture of uncertainty over the circumstances surrounding the death.
Final hours
Graham County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Patrick Cable summoned medical examiner James Hyde to the scene.
Hyde’s report lays out the timeline of events. It was reported that Williams’ son reported his father missing, saying he had not spoken with Charles since June 28.
Williams’ son said he became suspicious after “he was unable to get in touch with his father, and that his father’s female roommate had been acting strange when asked about his location.”
However, a neighbor later reported seeing Williams around midnight June 30, when Williams “was walking up the road toward his residence, but was moving slowly and staggering along the way.” The neighbor offered to help Williams, but Williams declined, saying he was OK.
Later that same night, an officer conducted a welfare check at the female roommate’s residence and observed the roommate cleaning the residence with bleach.
Charles was not seen at the residence during the check.
Discovery
Williams’ son was the one that discovered Charles, floating face-down in the pond.
Hyde’s examination at the scene uncovered tire tracks along the shore – which was pointed out to investigators – but was unable to find any indication of Williams falling into the water.
Even more unusual was that Williams’ clothes were out-of-sorts. His blue jeans were on backward – secured with a belt – and his boots were tied in a “non-traditional fashion,” appearing to have been “knotted hastily.” His glasses were still on his face, and a hat he was known to wear was floating roughly 15 feet away from his body.
“With the circumstances surrounding Mr. Williams death – and other reported parties that had been visiting Mr. Williams and his roommate – the decision was made to treat this case as if Mr. Williams had died somewhere else and placed in the pond after his death, until proven otherwise,” Hyde’s report states.