A St. Louis Police Department inquiry into the sudden death of former state representative Cora Faith Walker has uncovered no “suspicious” activity and is now paused, awaiting a final report from the medical examiner.
St. Louis Public Safety Director Dr. Dan Isom Monday gave a detailed review of the facts uncovered thus far in the death of Walker, who passed Friday, March 11, after she collapsed outside her room at the Loews Hotel.
The death of Walker, 37, who was a good friend of Mayor Tishaura Jones and had attended a party for Jones the day before her death, sparked what Isom called rumors and media reports not supported by facts.
“We looked into the circumstances of Miss Walker’s death, and we have no information that raises any suspicions beyond it being a tragic death. There is no active investigation going on. And we await the toxicology report.” — St. Louis Public Safety Director Don Isom
“Unfortunately, many have jumped to conclusions based on rumors, innuendo and allegations with no facts to support the reporting,” Isom said during his weekly report on crime in the downtown area. “It is a sad commentary for individuals who manufacture controversy out of tragedy. Specifically, the reckless writing from the St. Louis Post Dispatch editorial over the weekend contains errors that the board has since refused to address and could have [been] answered through reaching out to the St. Louis Police Department.”
Isom was unable to say when the medical examiner will release a final toxicology report and issue a statement on Walker’s cause of death.
But he said repeatedly there is “no active investigation” at the local or federal level. An earlier news report indicated information in the case had been turned over to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.
Isom said there is no DEA investigation, but noted that a detective with the police department also serves on a DEA task force.The DEA declined to comment on the case.
Isom said that by reviewing hotel footage and interviewing individuals in the case, including an unnamed “good samaritan” who initially came to Walker’s aide at the hotel, the department was able to put together a picture of Walker’s final moments.
Walker entered a hotel room – which was booked in the name of an unnamed person who was with her – around midnight Thursday, Isom said. That person left the room about 7 a.m. Friday and Isom said no evidence was collected from the room.
“On the morning of Friday, March 11, a little before 9 [a.m.], she left her room and collapsed in the hallway.
“An individual at the hotel encountered her in distress, and came to her aid,” he said, declining to give information on the person other than to mention that the person had trained as a nurse. “That individual at the hotel called 911. That call occurred at 8:55 a.m.”
“EMS received the call at 8:59 a.m,” he added. “A crew was assigned at 9 a.m. [A] St. Louis Fire Department crew was on the scene four minutes later at 9:04 a.m. and began to work to stabilize Miss Walker. An ambulance arrived on the scene at 9:30.”
Walker, who was hailed for her tireless work for health care justice and against racial injustice, was pronounced dead at 9:58 a.m. at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital.
Because of her age and connection to the mayor, Walker’s sudden death immediately sparked speculation as to the cause.
Isom addressed that speculation Monday.
“There’s a difference between unusual and suspicious. At the time of the call, [which came in as a “medical emergency” call] there was really no cause for suspicion. Of course there were a lot of rumors floating around. We felt that it was our duty to make sure that we looked into it and make sure there was no validity to the rumors. And as I’ve laid out the timeline and what we’ve done, there is nothing that’s come up that would raise any suspicion at this point.”
“We looked into the circumstances of Miss Walker’s death, and we have no information that raises any suspicions beyond it being a tragic death,” Isom said. “There is no active investigation going on. And we await the toxicology report.”
A St. Louis County Council member said via Twitter he will seek a Missouri State Highway Patrol investigation into the death of Walker, arguing that the close relationship between Jones and Walker presented a conflict of interest for the city.
Isom pushed back, adding the department has “absolutely has no conflict of interest.”
“I believe in the integrity of the police chief [John W. Hayden],” Isom said. “I believe in the integrity of [Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson] , I believe in the integrity of the EMS, the fire [department] people who responded, the Good Samaritan who helped and also the police detective who conducted this inquiry. So I’m very satisfied with the work that has been done.”
Karen Robinson-Jacobs is The St. Louis American / Type Investigations business reporter and a Report for America corps member.
