THOMSON, Ga. - Three months after a Thomson Middle School teacher was found dead in rural Warren County, authorities have ruled the death of Mary Beth Newsome an accident.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation Spokesman John Bankhead said in an e-mail Thursday that Mrs. Newsome's death was the result of "combined toxic effects of Alprazolam and Trazodone complicating hypertensive cardiovascular disease." Trazodone is a treatment for depression and, in some cases, insomnia, while Alprazolam is usually prescribed for anxiety, according to webMD.
An autopsy, which was performed at the GBI Crime Lab in Decatur along with toxicological and other tests, helped to determine a ruling in the death, said Gary Nicholson, special agent in-charge of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Region 7 office in Thomson. The autopsy was performed by Dr. Eric Eason, a medical examiner with the GBI Forensic Science Division, he said.
Warren County Coroner Paul Lowe said he is in the process of clarifying some of the things from the medical examiner's report before issuing any public comments.
Mrs. Newsome went missing from her Glascock County home on Thanksgiving Day. The next day, her body was discovered along a wooded path off Georgia Highway 123 in an area of Warren County known as the Shoals Community. Mrs. Newsome's car had been driven down the path commonly used by deer hunters on four wheelers. When authorities arrived, they found Mrs. Newsome lying face down in pine straw. The front passenger side tire of her car was stuck in sandy soil.
