Crime & Safety

Coroner: Circus Worker's Death Ruled Drug-Related

A North Carolina man had cocaine, heroin and alcohol in his system when he died at the Kane County Fairgrounds in August, according to toxicology test results.

The Kane County Coroner’s Office ruled that a North Carolina man who died this summer while working for a circus at the Kane County Fairgrounds died as a result of multiple drug use.

The official cause of death was listed as polypharmacy/accidental, and reflects that the death of Casey Dale Walker, 22, of Etowah, N.C., was an accidental death induced by the use of multiple drugs. The St. Charles Police Department, in a release, said that a toxicology report from the Illinois Crime Laboratory showed high traces of cocaine, heroin and alcohol in Walker’s system.

The finding puts an end to speculation by PETA, an animal rights activist group, that Walker had been attacked and killed by an elephant performing with Piccadilly Circus.

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St. Charles police and fire personnel were called to the fairgrounds at 3:50 a.m. after Walker’s roommates found him slumped over the dresser in the bedroom of his trailer, which was among the circus vehicles and trailers parked at the fairgrounds, 525 S. Randall Road.

Witnesses told police that they had noticed a bump on Walker’s forehead earlier in the night, and one witness told officers that she saw a metal pipe accidentally fall on Walker’s forehead several hours before he was found in his trailer.

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An autopsy by the coroner’s office was inconclusive, and the death investigation has awaited the toxicology results.

After Walker’s death, PETA began contacting media, including Patch, alleging that Walker had been attacked and killed by an elephant. Patch declined to report the accusations, which could not be substantiated.


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