[Online] Man involved with cadaver scandal found dead
A former employee of UCLA's Willed Body Program was found dead in his North Hollywood apartment on July 9.
Keith Lewis was implicated in the Willed Body Program scandal that rocked UCLA in March and consequently, placed on leave at that time. According to a university police search warrant, Lewis had confessed to helping Ernest Nelson - who was charged with receiving stolen body parts - cut up bodies and to receiving $2,000 in gratuities.
Police found Lewis' body on his bathroom floor after receiving a call from his friends who said they "hadn't heard or seen from him in a while," said Detective Mike Coffey of the Los Angeles Police Department's North Hollywood Division.
Police officials are calling the death of Lewis, 47, a "possible accidental drug overdose," after finding a syringe next to his body, Coffey said.
The official cause of death is still pending, but specimens from the body - which were taken during the autopsy - have been sent for toxicology analysis, said Fred Corral, a spokesmen for the coroner's office.
The final determination of Lewis' death will be made when the results are sent back in about eight to 10 weeks, Corral added.
"What remains in the investigation is the results from toxicology. We want to know what kinds of drugs and the quantity in his system," Coffey said.
News of Lewis' death has affected some parts of UCLA community prompting various responses.
"We are saddened by the death of Keith Lewis and our sympathies go out to his family," said UCLA Spokeswoman Roxanne Moster in an e-mail.
Meanwhile Keith Ellis, a hospital lab technician and a past coworker of Lewis expressed surprise upon reading about the death in the morning newspaper, but had not had extensive interaction with Lewis when he was a UCLA employee.
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