Coroner Orders Inquest After Disputing Suicide Ruling In Heather Turner Case

PAULDING COUNTY, GA — A coroner has ordered a formal inquest into the 2017 death of Heather Turner, setting up an independent review after declining to support a recent decision by law enforcement to classify the case as a suicide.

FOX 5 Atlanta reported that Paulding County Coroner Lindsey Eberhart Fuller announced she is not prepared to amend Turner's death certificate from "undetermined" to "suicide," despite the Paulding County Sheriff's Office closing its extensive investigation in February with the conclusion that Turner died by suicide.

Turner was found dead inside her Paulding County home on May 4, 2017, after suffering a gunshot wound to the head.

The case drew widespread public attention and speculation for years, with authorities initially listing the manner of death as undetermined before it was later changed to suicide earlier this year following additional reviews.

Fuller said her initial observations at the scene included concerns such as a missing bullet and what appeared to be a washed wall.

She also said those observations remain relevant despite later forensic findings and said she was excluded from meetings where the manner of death was ultimately changed.

"Based on the information reviewed to date, I am not prepared to initiate or support an amendment of Heather Turner's death certificate from undetermined to suicide," Fuller said in a statement released by her office.

Under Georgia law, a coroner's inquest is a civil proceeding in which a jury hears sworn testimony and reviews evidence to determine the manner and circumstances of a death. It is not a criminal trial and does not assign criminal responsibility.

The case resurfaced earlier this year after Sheriff Ashley Henson announced investigators had concluded Turner's death was a suicide based on forensic evidence, including a handwritten note, gunshot residue testing and DNA evidence, bringing an end to an investigation that had remained under scrutiny for nearly nine years.

The sheriff's office has said it will cooperate fully with the coroner's office throughout the inquest process.

Fuller said she expects to hold a press conference within the next two weeks to outline the process.