The Chanda Turner Reform Act (SB250) has been signed into law, and will go into effect Nov. 1, 2011! Families can now appeal their loved-ones' death certificates!

(Information provided by Katrina's mother and step-father): 

Katrina Rivera-Hill, born June 8, 1982, died a suspicious death in small-town Tuttle in Grady County, Oklahoma on October 28, 2009 after spending nine (9) days in a coma.

Tuttle police took this man's word at face value that on October 19th, Katrina jumped from his moving vehicle in a suicidal state, and forwarded their pathetic police report to the M.E.'s Office (which relied solely on the driver's story).  The M.E.'s Office quickly rubber-stamped it "suicide" with no independent investigation as required by law, and not even an autopsy.  No Oklahoma Traffic Collision Report was done, nor were photograhs taken of the crime scene the night of the incident. No one looked into the driver's past and his abusive history with Katrina until a few months later, but by then the M.E.'s Office had made up its mind and refuses to this day to change the incorrect and slanderous cause of death of this young woman. 

Katrina's family was incensed.  The driver of the car was Katrina's abusive, on-again, off-again ex-boyfriend. She had previously sought a VPO against him, which was dismissed when he could not be located to be served.

After a few months of dealing with inept Tuttle police, the family got the Highway Patrol involved with the help of the Grady County District Attorney.  Trooper Patrick Surber issued a 300+ page report confirming her death was no suicide, but rather a homicide.

A witness interviewed by this Trooper confirmed that Katrina had missing patches of hair where he had literally pulled her hair out by its roots. He admitted to this witness that he beat Katrina up in Dallas, Tx.  Katrina wore extensions to cover the damage he left on her head by pulling out her hair.  This man had previously held Katrina and one of her friends hostage in the same house he was driving to when Katrina exited his vehicle, again confirmed by witness statements.  In the month prior to this incident, Katrina told her father this man was crazy and she didn't want to be around him anymore.  Another witness reported that this man had beaten Katrina on October 15th, only four days before this incident. Apparently on October 19th, Katrina's car had broken down in Tuttle.  She called a friend for help, but he could not come get her.  We believe this is how she ended up in her abuser's car. 

Obviously, the family disputes that Katrina jumped out of his vehicle of her own volition, or if she did, it was to escape being taken back to the house in which she had previously been held hostage. 

The roadblock to prosecution? Our illustrious M.E.'s Office prematurely closed Katrina's case as a "suicide," frustrating the Grady County District Attorney's ability to prosecute.  Many prosecutors believe "suicide" on a death certificate equals "reasonable doubt" in Court, even when that determination has been made prematurely by an Agency that is in total disarray. 

The M.E.'s Office continues to re-victimize the deceased and their loved ones by operating this way.  Katrina's cause of death was listed as "blunt force trauma to the head," probably based on her medical records (she lived for a short time in an unconscious state in the hospital before her injuries finally claimed her).  Perhaps an autopsy could have explained how the fractures to Katrina's head were to the back of her head, when she landed face-down on the pavement after either jumping from the car to escape or being forced out. The abusive ex-boyfriend gave conflicting stories to Tuttle Police, the Highway Patrol, and others.  At one point, he told law enforcement he sped up to 50 mph and told Katrina to jump. In another statement, he said he was only going 10 mph when she jumped. He told a paramedic that they got into a fight in the car when she "let herself out of the vehicle." Then he told Katrina's step-father that she "fell" out of the car and landed face-first on the pavement. Had he already harmed her and pushed her out of the car to make it look like that was what caused her head trauma? We know he was fond of hurting her in that area from the missing hair she had on her head from prior beatings.

Unfortunately we will never know what an autopsy would have uncovered because the family was told the M.E.'s Office was going to correct the death certificate, and agreed to cremate Katrina's remains.  Now there is no way to get an independent autopsy, and the death certificate remains unchanged, despite clear evidence that her death was not self-inflicted.

PLEASE JOIN US IN OUR EFFORTS TO REFORM THE M.E.'S OFFICE AND GET JUSTICE FOR THE DEAD!

CONTACT US

GET INVOLVED BEFORE THE M.E.'S OFFICE HURTS YOU OR SOMEONE YOU LOVE!

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE TOOK THIS YOUNG LIFE.

THE M.E.'S OFFICE IS LETTING HER ABUSER GET AWAY WITH IT.