Crime & Safety
DA: Death of Gunshot Victim Cody Scheetz Was Accidental
Cody Scheetz of South Whitehall had died of a gunshot wound to the abdomen on March 31, 2011. The shooting occurred at his grandparents' home in Salisbury Township.
The death of a 20-year-old gunshot victim has been ruled accidental.
Cody C. Scheetz, of 312 S. 34th St., South Whitehall, had died of a gunshot wound to the abdomen on March 31, 2011.
The accidental shooting had occurred at his grandparents' home in Salisbury Township.
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Lehigh County District Attorney James B. Martin and Lehigh County Coroner Scott M. Grim announced the ruling Friday in a prepared release.
“The results of DNA testing were recently obtained, and it appears that the young man was putting a .38-caliber revolver, which was owned by his grandfather, into his waistband when it discharged,” Martin said in the release.
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“The case is closed, and no charges will be filed.”
Salisbury Township police had been dispatched at 6:05 p.m. on March 31, 2011 to 1102 Americus Ave., Salisbury Township, after a report of a gunshot in the residence. Scheetz was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, where he was pronounced dead at 6:30 p.m.
During an investigation by Salisbury Township police and detectives with the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Homicide Task Force, two guns and other evidence were seized and sent to three Pennsylvania State Police laboratories for DNA analysis, ballistics testing and gunshot residue analysis.
Grim ruled on Jan. 19, 2012 that Scheetz' death was accidental.
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