The State : Coroner Can’t Call It Murder

After a lengthy investigation, Sacramento County Coroner Charles Simmons has concluded that he cannot say whether seven people whose bodies were unearthed at a Victorian boardinghouse near the Capitol were murdered. While various drugs were found in the bodies, Simmons said he was unable, because of decomposition, to determine whether the drugs caused the deaths. The coroner’s conclusion is expected to complicate the prosecution of Dorothea Montalvo Puente, 60, the landlady charged with drugging and killing nine tenants and former boarders for their Social Security checks. Puente’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Kevin Clymo, said Simmons’ report shows that there is “no way” that natural causes of death can be excluded and therefore the prosecution will be forced to rely on circumstantial evidence to prove murder. Deputy Dist. Atty. George Williamson declined comment.