No foul play suspected in Town of Grafton woman’s death
Written by BILL SCHANEN IV
Wednesday, 04 March 2015 21:41 -
Alcohol, cold believed to be factors after husband finds body in minivan
outside home
Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Department investigators said Wednesday there is no evidence of
foul play in the death of a 70-year-old woman whose body was found in a minivan outside her
Town of Grafton house last week.
An autopsy performed by the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner Wednesday did not
pinpoint a cause of death, Lt. Rod Galbraith said.
“We have no evidence that foul play was involved,” Galbraith said. “We believe alcohol and
extreme cold were factors.”
Officials are waiting for toxicology reports to determine the cause of death, he added.
The body of Mary Ann Schuerman, a security specialist for US Bank and local artist, was
found by her husband Michael in the passenger seat of the family minivan parked outside their
house on Riverview Drive at about 2:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27, according to Knowles and Mr.
Schuerman.
The night before, Schuerman and her husband went out to celebrate her 70th birthday. They
returned home shortly after 10 p.m., Mr. Schuerman said.
“After that, we’re kind of in the dark as to what happened,” Capt. Christy Knowles said
Monday.
Mr. Schuerman said during an interview Tuesday that he went to an upstairs bedroom “and
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No foul play suspected in Town of Grafton woman’s death
Written by BILL SCHANEN IV
Wednesday, 04 March 2015 21:41 -
just crashed.” He said he assumed his wife came into the house.
“I really don’t know what happened,” he said. “Now it looks like she never left the car, and I
don’t know why.”
When he awoke the next morning, Mr. Schuerman said, he noticed his wife was not in the
house but assumed she had already left for work.
“I texted my wife to see if she fed and let the dog out, but she didn’t respond,” he said. “That
happens sometimes when she’s at work, so I didn’t think anything of it.
“It wasn’t until later that afternoon when I went out to the car that I found her.”
Mr. Schuerman called the sheriff’s department. Deputies and emergency medical technicians
arrived to find Mrs. Schuerman dead, Knowles said.
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