Dead woman left at ER door; investigation continues
Published 1:38 pm Friday, May 1, 2015
By Stephanie Nelson
Details remain unclear as to why an Atmore woman’s lifeless body was found outside the Atmore Community Hospital emergency room Tuesday night.
Police confirmed Friday her alleged boyfriend has been arrested twice on drug charges within the last two days as the investigation into the 40-year-old woman’s death continues.
Chief Deputy Mike Lambert said Friday that Bradley Keith Chaney, 29, of Atmore, was first charged with possession of a controlled substance after officers found synthetic marijuana, or “Spice,” inside his residence Wednesday.
Deputies, members of the 22nd Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force, and officers with the Poarch Tribal Police Department executed a search warrant at Chaney’s Fluornoy Circle home, and Chaney was taken into custody. He was released from the Escambia County Detention Center on bond sometime Wednesday; however, his freedom was short-lived after an arrest Thursday for possession of methamphetamine.
“It is a strange set of circumstances that remain under investigation,” Lambert said. “What we can disclose is that the body of a woman was left at the hospital. Her boyfriend was taken into custody later at the hospital, and it was later determined that the woman may have been alive when she left the reservation.”
An unidentified second woman was reportedly inside the vehicle when the deceased woman was left at the hospital.
“As of right now, we are trying to determine where the death occurred and the circumstances surrounding it,” he said. “As in any situation of a suspicious death, we are treating it as a homicide until the facts reveal otherwise.”
Lambert said the woman’s body was sent to the state forensic lab for an autopsy.
“We’re going to have to rely on the toxicology report to determine the cause of her death because there was no evidence of obvious injuries.”
Chaney was again arrested after investigators attempted to question him a second time, Lambert said.
“On Thursday, Mr. Chaney was found to be in possession of methamphetamine,” he said. “His bond was revoked from the first arrest, and he remains in jail as the investigation continues.”
Lambert said other arrests could be forthcoming in the future.