*This episode contains disturbing descriptions of both strangulations and hangings. Please take care while listening.  In this episode, we examine the role of the medical examiner in suspicious death cases. Can a medical examiner determine whether a death was a suicide? The answer is complex. 

Refugio Rodriguez, part 4: Homicide or suicide? What role does the medical examiner play in determining how a person died

Join host Trisha Taurinskas as we delve into the news vault for a fresh look at the cold cases, crime and intrigue in our upper Midwest communities. Brought to you by Forum Communications Company.

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This is part 7, the final episode in the series on the disappearance of Belinda Van Lith, and the investigation that followed.   In this episode, we explore new information brought to light through listener contributions, including potential suspects and insight into the day Belinda went missing.    We also discuss Belinda's troll necklace, which contained a white stone. A white jewelry stone was recovered from Timothy Crosby's home during the 2009 search warrant execution. Is there a connection? Find out in this episode.    Finally, we hear from Belinda's siblings about who Belinda was, and the impact her disappearance had on the entire family.    You can find all of our work on this case at inforum.com/Belinda. There, you’ll discover our print stories that accompany every podcast episode. Those stories include images from the casefile, and photos of Belinda, Timothy Crosby and others mentioned in this story. You can also visit our Facebook Group, The Vault: True Crime from the Upper Midwest to discuss the case with others who are listening or reading the series.    If you have any information related to this case, email Trisha Taurinskas at ttaurinskas@forumcomm.com   

PART 7: The Disappearance of Belinda Van Lith

This is part 6 in an ongoing series on the disappearance of Belinda Van Lith, and the investigation that followed.   In part 6 of this series, reporter and host Trisha Taurinskas sits down to interview the main suspect, Timothy Crosby, at the secure Moose Lake Sex Offender Treatment Program facility, where he is locked up indefinately.    This episode we examine how Belinda's investigation led to Timothy Crosby's involuntarily commitment as a dangerous sexual offender and a danger to society.    To learn more about what was discovered during Belinda's investigation, listen to this episode.    You can find all of our work on this case at inforum.com/Belinda. There, you’ll discover our print stories that accompany every podcast episode. Those stories include images from the casefile, and photos of Belinda, Timothy Crosby and others mentioned in this story. You can also visit our Facebook Group, The Vault: True Crime from the Upper Midwest to discuss the case with others who are listening or reading the series.    If you have any information related to this case, email Trisha Taurinskas at ttaurinskas@forumcomm.com   

PART 6: The Disappearance of Belinda Van Lith

This is part 5 in an ongoing series on the disappearance of Belinda Van Lith, and the investigation that followed.   In this part of the series, we explore the cold case review of Belinda's case, which took place from 2008 to 2014. During that time, investigators with the Wright County Sheriff's Office, the Minnesota BCA and the FBI conducted a number of thorough searches in their effort to find Belinda.    Those searches included the execution of multiple search warrants, the use of cadaver dogs, excavations and more.    To find out what they discovered, listen to this episode.    You can find all of our work on this case at inforum.com/Belinda. There, you’ll discover our print stories that accompany every podcast episode. Those stories include images from the casefile, and photos of Belinda, Timothy Crosby and others mentioned in this story. You can also visit our Facebook Group, The Vault: True Crime from the Upper Midwest to discuss the case with others who are listening or reading the series.    If you have any information related to this case, email Trisha Taurinskas at ttaurinskas@forumcomm.com   

PART 5: The Disappearance of Belinda Van Lith

This is part 4 in an ongoing series on the disappearance of Belinda Van Lith, and the investigation that followed.   In part 4 of this series, we explore an alleged confession related to Belinda's disappearance.    In January 2002, the Wright County Sheriff’s Office in Minnesota received a call from a woman who claimed she had information about a confession in Belinda’s case.    The woman told investigators her sister was riding in the back of a truck one to two years prior when she heard their aunt say Belinda’s distant cousin confessed to the crime at some point between 1987 and 1989 while drunk.   The distant cousin arrived at the aunt’s house and allegedly told her that he and a friend forced Belinda into their car while she was walking down the road on a dark and foggy night. Then, he claimed things “got out of hand,” according to the case file.   To learn more about what investigators did next, listen to this episode.    You can find all of our work on this case at inforum.com/Belinda. There, you’ll discover our print stories that accompany every podcast episode. Those stories include images from the casefile, and photos of Belinda, Timothy Crosby and others mentioned in this story. You can also visit our Facebook Group, The Vault: True Crime from the Upper Midwest to discuss the case with others who are listening or reading the series.    If you have any information related to this case, email Trisha Taurinskas at ttaurinskas@forumcomm.com   

PART 4: The Disappearance of Belinda Van Lith

This is part 3 in an ongoing series on the disapperance of Belinda Van Lith, and the investigation that followed.   In part 3 of this series, we explore the criminal history of Timothy Crosby, the main suspect in the disappearance of Belinda Van Lith.    After being released from a state insitution for sexually violent individuals for the December 1974 kidnapping and sexual assault of a young woman, two more women escaped from Timothy Crosby.    In 1983, a young woman escaped from his vehicle after being held at knifepoint. In 1987, Timothy Crosby held a young woman captive in his St. Paul apartment for 16 hours. The young woman, who endured hours of violent sexual assault, threw herself out of Timothy Crosby's apartment window. Two men witnessed her escape, and authorities were called in.    For the full details on Timothy Crosby's criminal history, listen to this episode.    You can find all of our work on this case at inforum.com/Belinda. There, you’ll discover our print stories that accompany every podcast episode. Those stories include images from the casefile, and photos of Belinda, Timothy Crosby and others mentioned in this story. You can also visit our Facebook Group, The Vault: True Crime from the Upper Midwest to discuss the case with others who are listening or reading the series.  If you have any information related to this case, email Trisha Taurinskas at ttaurinskas@forumcomm.com   

Refugio Rodriguez, part 4: Homicide or suicide? What role does the medical examiner play in determining how a person died

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