Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 21 February 2003 — Page 4

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THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2003

fj* l" of Black History Month, the Indianapolis Colts would like to recognize and remember some very special achievements by members of our team: Coach Tony Dungy turned the team around by guiding the Colts from a 6-10 record in 2001 to a 10-6 finish in 2002. He helped improve the defense from a ranking of 20th to 8th in just one season. Off the field, Coach Dungy’s efforts to make our community a better place to live included launching programs such as “Basket of Hope” and “All Pro Dads.” Marvin Harrison shattered the NFL single season receptions record by catching 143 passes in 2002. Harrison also started his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl and was named to the NFL’s All-Pro Team. Rookie Dwight Freeney proved the critics wrong by recording a team-high 13 sacks, despite starting only half of the regular season games. \ Offensive Tackle Tarik Gflmn has started all 96 regular season games since he was drafted in 1997. THi^ past season Glenn launched his D.R.E.A.M Alive foundation to reach out to underprivileged kids in the inner city. The D.R.E.A.M Alive Foundation has touched the lives of over 1,000 youths in our community As we celebrate Black History Month, we congratulate all AfricanAmericans in our communin’ who are working to make our city a better place to live.

Case closed:

An official conclusion to Hie Roger McCann case

By BRANDON A. PERRY Staff Writar

After a nearly five-month investigation, local authorities have announced test results that they confirm their theory that 23-year-old Roger E. McCann committed suicide. This official declaration comes after heighteneji suspicions ofboth McCann’s family and his neighbors, who believed McCann, a Black man, was murdered by an unknown assailant. On Oct. 25 of this past year, McCann was found dangling by the neck on a steel chain that was suspended from a tree limb 10 feet high in the 7400 block of West Henry Street. Marion County Sheriffs Sgt. Doug Scheffel, the law enforcement official investigating McCann’s case, had been waiting for the results of an important lab test before determining whether of not McCann’s death involved foul play. "Bark was found on the seat of Roger’s pants and analysis showed it matched with a sample of bark taken from the tree on which he was found,” Scheffel said. “The results add to the theory that Mr. McCann straddled the tree (before pushing himself off), and did indeed commit suicide,” Scheffel said. M moja Ajabu, however, is frustrated that the sheriff’s department and coroner’s office do not believe another person was involved in McCann’s death. Ajabu, a local Christian minister and longtime community activist, had spoken out on behalf of Norah Crockett, McCann’s mother. “It’s still difficult to believe that someone would take a chain, hook it around one of their limbs, and go through all that trouble to kill themselves.”

Ajabu also said that marks found on McCann’s arms and chest indicated a fight or struggle. He recently sent a list of questions to the coroner’s office. Ajabu wanted to know why there seemed to be high amounts of carbon monoxide in McCann’s system, and sought more information about what authorities called a “strange, unidentifiable substance” eating away at the young man’s stomach. “You mean to tell me that people from the coroner’s office, who are mostly from the premier IU School of Medicine couldn’t identify what this substance was. And they’re trying to say he willfully ate it? That seems very strange to me.” (Ajabu was the official representative of Crockett until last weekend, when he said the family “expressed a desire to represent themselves.”) But Francis Kelly, chief deputy coroner of Marion County, said the “unknown substance” was most likely digested, and that the stomach eating itself away is normal in early stages of decomposition. “As far as the carbon monoxide is concerned,” she continued, “Anything under 12 percent is the average amount found in smokers, and anything above 5 percent we document. Roger had less than that amount in his system.” Corina Priest, who sometimes gave food to McCann and eventually found the body, also does not believe the death was a suicide. She and her husband said they saw no marks on McCann’s neck. In an earlier interview with the Indianapolis Star, her husband, Raymond, said the chain was too short and in order for McCann to use it, he would have had to undertake the extremely difficult

task of “wrapping it around his limb, locking it into place and lying prostrate on the tree limb.” The Priests contend this would have been almost impossible with Roger’s hands tied behind his back. They stated that McCann appeared to be “running scared” and “afraid” shortly before his death. Sgt. Scheffel, however, stated that McCann’s habit of sniffing glue in order to get high most likely contributed to his sometimes-violent episodes of paranoia. Crockett had written a strong letter to Kelly emphasizing her belief that her son, the first of nine children, was murdered. But last week disagreements between McCann’s family and county authorities seemed to dissipate during a meeting between Crockett, McCann’s sister, Marion County Sheriff Frank Anderson and representatives from the coroners. Both Scheffel and Kelly said Crockett was open to the evidence presented to her about Roger’s death. Mrs. Crockett said she understood the science behind what we were explaining to her (in regard to how Roger died). But as a mother she held out hope that he did not do this to himself.” But the investigation is still unsatisfactory to those who believe foul play was involved, and Ajabu said the case has been referred to the U.S. Justice Department and the FBI has been notified. “We truly looked very hard at this case, and from the beginning it was handled as a homicide,” Kelly said. “Although it was eventually mled asuicide, precautionary measures usually used in murdercases.” Crockett was not immediately available for comment.

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