Man’s Death Wrongly Called Suicide Widow Almost Lost Insurance After Ruling Without Toxin Tests

A quick decision by Spokane County Coroner Dexter Amend almost cost Carol Weltz $2,000 in life insurance money when her husband died.

Stephen Weltz, who used drugs and alcohol periodically for years, went drinking after staying clean for four months. He was found dead on the couch the next day, May 12.

Before toxicology tests on Weltz’s body were complete, Amend said the 36-year-old man had committed suicide by overdosing on cocaine and heroin.

“I called him and said it was ridiculous,” Carol Weltz said. “This is not a man who was suicidal. This is a man with a passion for life.”

The Weltz case illustrates one reason why accurate causes of death are so important: Insurance money. Insurance companies rarely pay out on suicides, and sometimes pay double on accidental deaths.

Weltz brought the death certificate to Painters Local Union 269 to collect on her husband’s small life insurance policy, money she needed to pay for his burial. On June 4, American Income Life Insurance denied her $2,000 in benefits because the death was ruled a suicide.

Weltz and a friend pressured Amend to change the certificate. The coroner lectured her on morality and the evils of drugs during a two-hour conversation, Weltz said.

She and Amend came to an agreement: If toxicology results showed drug levels three times the lethal dose, the death certificate would stay the same. Otherwise, the certificate would be changed to an accident.

The tests detected low levels of anti-depressants, alcohol and morphine, a byproduct of heroin - but no lethal amounts of any drugs. Weltz took anti-depressants daily by prescription.

State Toxicologist Barry Logan said he couldn’t say how Weltz died. “It’s very difficult for me to make an interpretation, simply based on our report.”

Amend changed the cause of death to an accident. On June 12, the insurance company paid the $2,000 benefit.

Five forensic pathologists said listing a cause of death before receiving toxicology results is very unusual.

“In that case, that is outright gross malpractice,” said Dr. Lone Thanning, a pathologist near New York who was recommended as an expert by the American College of Forensic Examiners.

“I certainly would not sign a case like that without toxicology results,” said Larry Lewman, chief medical examiner in Oregon.

Weltz blamed Amend for making a difficult time even worse.

“If I hadn’t been so forceful and had a friend who was so forceful, I wouldn’t have got this changed,” she said. “It would have been labeled a suicide and left. What a terrible legacy to leave behind, if it’s not the truth.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo