Mystery still shrouds the death of 18-year-old University of Colorado student Jesse Gomez, who was found dead in early April in his Boulder dormitory.
The Boulder coroner’s office on Friday ruled out drugs and alcohol as factors after an extensive forensic autopsy and toxicological analysis showed no signs of trauma or foul play. The official cause will be listed as “undetermined” unless new evidence in the case arises, authorities said.
“This just confirms what we believed all along, that Jesse’s death was not caused by alcohol or drugs,” Gomez’s father Joe Gomez II said. “I think that not knowing exactly what caused his death, but knowing what did not cause his death continues the belief we have in my son and all he accomplished in such a short life.”
Toxicology testing revealed the blood-alcohol level in Gomez’s blood was 0.159 percent, which is not enough to be fatal, coroner Tom Faure said.
Typically, a 0.35 percent blood-alcohol level is considered fatal, but it also depends on factors such as the person’s size and experience with alcohol, he said.
An undetermined cause of death not common, but it’s not unheard of, either, Faure said. Generally, the causes of 1 percent to 3 percent of deaths that go through autopsies are deemed undetermined, he said.
The police investigation will continue to try to determine why Gomez died, CU police Lt. Tim McGraw said.
“This investigation very much still remains on the front burner,” McGraw said. “No one had pre-judged this case, and none of the investigators forwarded any strong hypothesis into a cause.”
Speculation has swirled among friends of Gomez and in the media about what killed him since his body was found in his dorm room on April 9.
The speculation was fueled when Boulder fraternity Theta Xi confirmed Gomez had attended one of its house parties the night before he died.
In response, the Interfraternity Council suspended alcohol at Greek events, but since lifted the ban as it became more apparent that Theta Xi did nothing wrong, Greek advocate Mark Stine said.
Gomez was a star tennis player, wrestler and National Honor Society member while at Bear Creek High School in Lakewood. At CU, he studied engineering and was involved in a student leadership program.
Staff writer Manny Gonzales can be reached at 303-820-1537 or mgonzales@denverpost.com.
