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February 28, 2013

Jeffersonville Police Department releases name of body found

Investigation into cause of death remains open

By GARY POPP gary.popp@newsandtribune.com

JEFFERSONVILLE — Jeffersonville police released the name of a man found dead in a field Sunday.

The body of Vernon “Wayne” Taylor, 54, was found about 100 yards off of Holmans Lane in Jeffersonville about 11 a.m. that day by a passerby, the department said Thursday.

Taylor was a resident of Armstrong Farms apartments, police said, located about one mile from where his body was located. Police said there are no suspicions of foul play. Following an autopsy Tuesday, hypothermia was determined as the preliminary cause of death.

Jeffersonville Police Department Detective Isaac Parker said the case will remain open until a toxicology report is returned, which he said can take two to four weeks.

“We can’t assume anything,” Parker said as to what led to Taylor’s death. “That is why we are waiting on the toxicology report.”

Toxicology reports are part of procedure when autopsies are conducted, Parker said.

Parker said Taylor lived with a roommate, but is not aware that Taylor required any monitoring for mental illness, which could have caused him to end up in field.

Officials have reported that Taylor is believed to have departed about 10 to 12 hours before being found by the passerby.

“We don’t know why [Taylor] was in the field,” Parker said, adding there is no reason for investigators to believe Taylor was not by himself at the time of his death.

Police waited to release Taylor’s identity to the public until the American Red Cross reached one of his relatives, an active-duty service member overseas.

More information will be provided when the toxicology report becomes available.

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