Coroner Rules Cause Of USC Student's Death Undetermined
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L.A. Coroner's office has ruled that Roy Kyaw's death cannot be determined. (Facebook/Roy Kyaw)
The Los Angeles County coroner's office has ruled that the cause of death for 22-year-old USC sophomore Thu Yain "Roy" Kyaw cannot be determined in a 17-page report released Wednesday morning.
While alcohol was not ruled to be the cause of death, the Coroner's Public Information Officer, Craig Harvey, "believed" that Kyaw's blood alcohol concentration level was .15 percent. That is almost twice the legal limit of .08 percent.
Scientific research shows that blood alcohol concentrations tend to be above .20 before vomiting and choking commence and around .35 before people stop breathing. Yet preliminary findings from the Coroner's office had revolved around the assumption that Kyaw's death was caused by "acute alcohol toxicity."
Kyaw was found deceased in his apartment on Sunday, Oct. 27 in his bedroom in the Monte Carlo apartment complex on 29th Street, days after attending a Halloween fraternity party.
Harvey concluded that "the cause of death is undetermined after full autopsy and toxicology studies" lasting nearly three months. The determination, or lack thereof, was decided after additional tests were ordered.
The physician in charge has closed the case as a result.
SEE ALSO: Hundreds Recall USC Student Thu Yain 'Roy' Kyaw's Zest For Life
An autopsy was performed on Oct. 29 and found "evidence of advanced decomposition." While the coroner's report states a toxicology screen "indicated the presence of alcohol," the document concludes that the levels found in Kyaw's system cannot be considered the cause of death.
Other toxicology tests yielded no results, but the coroner's report does provide additional details about Kyaw's death.
The report stated that while Kyaw "attended a Halloween fraternity party on 10/24/2013," nobody witnessed him leaving the party. The report also said Kyaw consumed "an unknown amount of alcohol."
SEE ALSO: USC Revises Social Events Policy, Focuses On Alcohol
The last message Kyaw sent was at 2:08 a.m. on Oct. 25, which either means he was alive after the party or someone sent a message from his phone.
The report also states that Kyaw smoked "an unknown amount of cigarettes and [drank] alcohol occasionally."
The case file says Kyaw's brother found the body on Oct. 27, which was already "decomposed." Kyaw was pronounced dead at the scene on the same night at 9:29 p.m. Los Angeles Police Officer Castruita reported Kyaw's death as "undetermined" to a Coroner clerk on the same night at 11:13 p.m.
Witnesses reported a party in the area between the Monte Carlo complex and the building next door on Oct. 25 and 26. According to the report, party patrons were actually inside Kyaw's apartment during that time frame, "but no one noticed the decedent in his bedroom."
The coroner's report also states the former student "called a friend in Singapore on 10/25/13" at about 4:00 a.m.
"The decedent told his friend during the conversation that he was drunk. He did not express any other health complaints. He was able to hold a conversation," the report reads.
Hundreds of friends, family and faculty attended a memorial for Kyaw last November. Roy Kyaw's older brother, Arkar Kyaw, is a current USC student expected to graduate this spring.
