Death Of Ballerina With South Bend Ties Ruled An Accident
MONROE COUNTY, MO. — The death of a St. Louis ballerina originally from South Bend whose body was found hours away from home in November has officially been ruled accidental.
Raffaela Stroik’s body was discovered Nov. 14 floating in Mark Twain Lake in a Missouri state park, about a 2 ½-hour drive from St. Louis.
Police said at the time her body was found that there was no sign of foul play in her death, but as of Jan. 18, the Monroe County coroner in Missouri said Stroik’s manner of death was still unclear.
On Thursday, NewsCenter 16 obtained a copy of Stroik’s death certificate, which says Coroner Jim Reinhard concluded Stroik died from asphyxiation while drowning, and the official ruling on the manner of death is that it was an accident.
Source: WNDU