The manner of death of a former Franklin woman has been ruled as undetermined by the Erie County coroner.
Dusty Carter, 32, was found dead at her Erie home on the morning of Sept. 24, the victim of a stab wound to the throat.
Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook was unable to rule whether the death was a homicide, a suicide or an accident.
However, Erie County District Attorney Jack Daneri has requested Erie police detectives continue their investigation.
“There’s a strong indication that it was a suicide,” Erie Deputy police Chief Mike Nolan said. “However, because of the coroner’s ruling, it’s going to remain open. There’s always information to come in that could change the focus of the investigation.”
On the morning of Carter’s death, a man covered in blood ran from Carter’s home across the street to District Judge Paul Bizzarro’s office to call 911.
Nolan said Bizzarro, a retired police detective, ran across the street to help and found Carter dead.
The man who ran for help was questioned for several hours, Nolan said. Police haven’t named a suspect.
“We are not closing the book on this yet,” Nolan said. “We haven’t received all of the evidence that was sent out for investigation back yet. It’s not over.”
