Deaths of Napavine pair remain unsolved

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Authorities say the two individuals found dead inside their Napavine home are Cheryl Ausland, 50, and her 59-year-old brother Robert Collier, but they don’t know yet how they died.

An autopsy was set for today and this afternoon, Lewis County Coroner Warren McLeod reports the cause and manner of death won’t be determined until he gets the results of toxicology tests.

That can take eight to 10 weeks.

The sheriff’s office is still investigating, after two co-workers of Ausland went to her home on East Stella Street on Tuesday morning to check on her when she didn’t show up for work. They found the pair deceased.

There were no signs of a struggle or obvious lethal injuries, leaving detectives to wait for information from the autopsy.

A spokesperson for the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office says they haven’t ruled out anything.

“I wish toxicology test were instant, so we could say,” Cmdr. Steve Aust said. “Quite frankly, I think toxicology is going to answer those questions.”

Aust said the tests would basically be looking for alcohol, drugs or some other substance that could have led to the deaths, and that they aren’t suspecting poisoning.

When detectives believe the two died is something they won’t release, Aust said.

Ausland had been at work in recent days, and Collier was unemployed, according to Aust.

“We’re still investigating who was the last person to have seen him and when,” he said.

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4 Responses to “Deaths of Napavine pair remain unsolved”

  1. Free Air says:

    This title, “Deaths of Napavine pair remain unsolved” puzzles me. That insinuates that the investigation is over without a cause being found.
    Unlike TV, it takes more than one episode to get the test results back. A more accurate and less misleading title would be “Deaths of Napavine Pair awaiting test results”.

  2. BobbyinLC says:

    You are right astonished. 8-10 weeks is the standard across the country where medical examiner’s offices do not have their own lab. In Vancouver and the “Glee case” they have their own lab and results came back in 24 hours.

    I believe this county uses the WSP Tox Lab and we are at the mercy of their backlog.

  3. Astonished says:

    Your right Jorja, however it took 6 or so weeks for Michael Jacksons cause of death to be ruled an “accidental overdose” by the medical examiner down in California. You don’t get much more famous than MJ. The recent death of that Glee cast member up in Vancouver BC was provided much faster, I think that the Vancouver BC medical examiners office has the capability to do its own tox tests. If you think that Tox is ridiculous then you should see how long it takes for DNA results. Basically it all comes down to money.. Lewis County does not have the funds to run its own tox lab so…. it takes longer.

  4. Jorja says:

    Funny how if you are “well-known” or somewhat famous a toxicology test wouldn’t take eight (8) to ten (10) weeks. They were someone’s child/daughter/son/mother/brother, etc. They were important and loved! Praying for this family!