Updated News Release - Tomah Police Department

Date of Release:                      December 6, 2016
Date of Incident:                      September 25, 2016
Type of Incident:                      Death Investigation, Linda Purcell, 54 yoa
Place of Occurrence:               Veterans Assistance Foundation, Tomah Veterans Medical Center, Tomah, WI


Summary of Incident:
On September 26, 2016 the Tomah Police Department received a request from the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, to assist in a death investigation at the Veterans Assistance Foundation which is located on the Tomah VA Medical Center grounds.

The investigation, which started on September 25, 2016,  involved the death of a 54 year old female, identified as Linda Purcell, who had been staying at the Veterans Assistance Foundation located on the Tomah VA Medical Center grounds.  Upon initial investigation a cause of death could not be determined.  In an attempt to determine the cause of death an autopsy was ordered and has been performed by the UW Hospital Pathology Department in Madison.

The autopsy report indicates that the cause of death is attributed to a combined toxicoligic process involving multiple drugs.  Although the report includes information related to the types of medications which had been taken it could not be determined that one specific medication attributed to the cause of death.   The manner of death could not be determined.

The criminal investigation into this matter is complete.  The investigation did not find any evidence of criminal wrongdoing.

Mark Nicholson
Chief of Police
Tomah Police Department