Autopsy of student provides no answers

An autopsy Tuesday failed to determine the cause of death of 21-year old Purdue University junior Laura Marie Williams.\nWilliams, a native of Chesterton, Ind., and student in the university's School of Consumer and Family Sciences, was found dead Monday morning in her off-campus apartment. Williams' roommate, Daniel Goebbert, a junior, said Williams told another roommate she wasn't feeling well Sunday afternoon. She never emerged from her room. \nTippecanoe County Coroner Martin Avolt told the Associated Press he estimates Williams' time of death as being sometime late Sunday night or early Monday morning.\nWilliams spent the Saturday before her death celebrating her 21st birthday by visiting several bars, police say. Tuesday's autopsy was unable to show if alcohol played a role in Williams' death. \nCaptain Mike Francis of the West Lafayette Police Dept. said investigators are waiting on a toxicology report and microscopic studies to determine what killed Williams. The toxicology report will determine the contents of a blood sample and other evidence collected at the scene. Results should be available in about 10 days.\n"We have no indication of any kind of suspicious activity or foul play," Francis said.\nAvolt said "any one of a million things" could have killed the otherwise healthy student.\nAlthough there is no indication of alcohol having played a role in Williams' death, Francis said in cases where it is a factor, the department looks at alcohol poisoning or whether the victim choked on vomit. \nFrancis said investigators are interviewing people who were with Williams Saturday night. \n"We want to see if they can give us some kind of indication as to how she was feeling or acting or if any people other than her roommates saw her on Sunday," Francis said. \nWilliams swam on the junior varsity team during all four years of high school. She was in the National Honor Society member and was a member of the school's Students Against Drunk Driving organization. Williams was listed in the 1996-97 "Who's Who Among American High School Students."\nJim Voss, Chesterson High School assistant swim coach, told Gary's Post-Tribune that Williams was always shy and reserved. \n"She was just an excellent kid, an excellent student," he said. "It's a real shock. To me, she knew where she was going."\nJoe Bennett, vice president of university relations at Purdue, said the university has no additional information at this time.\n"We provide counseling through the dean of students," Bennett said. "We have a variety of different kinds of counseling including grief counseling. I don't know if any of (Williams') friends have taken advantage"