Autopsy shows teen didn’t die from fight at party

Published 9:53 am Thursday, May 3, 2007

WINDER (AP) — Preliminary autopsy reports have found that a high school senior did not die from injuries suffered in a fight during a weekend after-prom party at a house.

The finding, announced Wednesday, means authorities will not charge anyone in connection with the fight but will continue to investigate the death of Leland Martin, 18, said Maj. Murray Kogod of the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office

The case could still lead to alcohol-related arrests, Kogod said.

Martin, an honors student at Winder-Barrow High School, died Sunday at the Auburn-area house where a girl threw a party while her parents were out of town, officials said.

Martin was punched in the face and died some time later, but not from being punched, Kogod said.

“From the information the medical examiner provided us, there were no physical injuries that was a contributing factor to Mr. Martin’s death,” Kogod said.

Meanwhile, investigators are trying to find out who supplied the alcohol and if any adults were at the party, which started after the school’s prom Saturday night.

As many as 40 guests attended the party and most were under the legal drinking age, according to Kogod, who said they drank beer and hard liquor, including bourbon and whiskey.

“We’ve just had an enormous number of interviews to perform, and information keeps coming in from adults who were told things by their kids” who were at the party, he said.

Officials could bring charges ranging from keeping a disorderly house to contributing to the delinquency of a minor, Kogod said.