November 09, 2011 News & Features » News and Features
Autopsy on Gwar Guitarist Inconclusive
The initial autopsy report delivered today on Gwar guitarist Cory Smoot is inconclusive, according to the Sheriff's Office in Pembina County, N.D. Smoot's body was discovered Nov. 3 in his bunk aboard the band's tour bus in Pembina, two miles south of the Canadian border.
The group was collecting passports to cross into Canada for its next round of concerts when they discovered their 34-year-old guitarist had passed away.
Chief Deputy Sheriff Jeff Osvold said the department must now wait on toxicology reports, which could take up to several months, before releasing its findings.
"Still undetermined according to the medical examiner's office," he said. "Really was uninformational. … I can tell you no criminal charges are pending."
Osvold said he couldn't comment on what was found at the scene and "didn't want to release any ideas, or guesses."
"We don't want to cause any undue harm to the family," Osvold said. "He was a young guy. For his age, an investigation usually always involves toxicology reports. I'd love to tell you more, but right now, we don't have any new info."
Osvold pointed out that the town sits at one of the major crossings into Canada, along Interstate 29, and that celebrities pass through all the time.
"But this is different for us, never had something like this," he added.
Smoot's death has been widely mourned by fans of the band and received widespread media coverage around the nation and overseas – including outlets such as Rolling Stone magazine, the Los Angeles Times and the Guardian in the United Kingdom.
The band, which announced it has retired Smoot's character, Flattus Maximus, in his honor, is continuing tour, which is now in the Northwest. Frontman Dave Brockie wrote in a news release that Smoot would have been "pissed" if they didn't.
Calls today to the Smoot home in the South Side, which he shared with his wife, Jamie, were unanswered. A message said the voice mail was full.
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