Ophthamologist's death remains mystery

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - When Dr. Brian Bearie died on March 9, 2011, the staff at his Grand Rapids Eye Institute said he died of a heart attack.

But when his death certificate was filed, the cause of death for the 50-year-old ophthalmologist "cannot be determined."

"That's very frustrating," Kent County Medical Examiner Dr. Stephen Cohle told 24 Hour News 8. "This case is probably unique in the many years I've been doing forensic pathology."

Dr. Bearie's sudden passing has been devastating on his family. A wife, and three children from a previous marriage, are all left in the dark.

Not knowing exactly what caused his death, they admit, has caused a strain between some as they speculate the what ifs - such as if there was something more to his untimely death.

After not answering phone calls, a family member found Bearie in the bedroom, wearing just socks, underwear and a t-shirt.

A few items were disturbed in the home, knocked over on the floor, but nothing to indicate a clear sign of struggle, Kent County Sheriff's Detective Russ Larson told 24 Hour News 8. There was no forced entry, and Bearie's cash and electronic devices were still in the house. There was not enough to signal foul play.

Dr. Cohle performed a complete autopsy, and only found minor scrapes on Bearie's face and arms. "They could be self-inflicted," he said. "They're not severe enough or serious enough to say clearly that someone else did it."

The autopsy turned up nothing.

"Other things that we did were a drug screen, looking for drugs of abuse and prescription drugs," Cohle said. "That was essentially negative."

The medical examiner said he has a few possible causes of death - an abused inhalant, paint fumes or an undetectable heart condition.

"Subtle electrical abnormalities of the heart, which can cause a spontaneous fatal heart rythm," he said. "The best known of these is long QT syndrome ," which is extremely rare, he added. "We did obtain a medical history which did not include that, so I'm ruling that out as a likely possibility. But it is a possible one because it would explain his death."

Only 1% of cases of people Bearie's age have an "undeterminable" cause of death, he said. Kent County detectives conducted numerous interviews with family and co-workers, but they said the case is closed -- unless new evidence turns up or someone comes forward with new information.

"If I thought there was foul play involved," Cohle said, "I would have certified this as a homicide. I have certified this as indeterminable."