Body exhumed from Sunman burial plot
Autopsy confirms death was suicide
Wanda English Burnett - Editor

On Monday, November 22, the body of John Kelly Hurd was exhumed and an autopsy performed.

Hurd's mother, Peggy Rider, was suspicious of the ruling that her son had committed suicide in December of 2002. The Lawrenceburg City Police Department and Dearborn County Coroner's Office were in charge of the initial investigation and an autopsy was not performed at that time according to Crime Scene Investigator Ed Lewis of the Indiana State Police.

Lewis noted that Rider had contacted him several months earlier and asked him to become involved in the situation. "I explained to her that I can't just come into someone else's case unless asked," he told The Versailles Republican on Tuesday.

Rider became involved with the organization Mothers of Murdered Children and persisted until a doctor connected with the group agreed to perform the autopsy.

After the body was exhumed from the St. Paul Cemetery near Sunman, an autopsy was performed by Dr. Bonnell from CA, at the Hamilton County Morgue. Lewis, who at this time had an official request from the Dearborn County Prosecutor's Office to help with the investigation, became involved. He was present throughout the ordeal and along with Dr. Bonnell addressed Hurd's family Monday afternoon upon completion of the autopsy.

Dr. Bonnell, along with Lewis concluded that the evidence was conclusive with suicide. "It was a self-inflicted gunshot wound," Lewis noted.

At the time of Hurd's death he resided at 929 Prebble Rd., Lawrenceburg.

According to Lewis, Hurd was buried again in the same burial spot later Monday afternoon.