ELYRIA — The deaths of victim advocate Margaret McCoy and her husband, Virgil, earlier this year have been ruled a murder-suicide — a ruling that the Lorain County coroner said was bolstered by a 911 call from Virgil McCoy the night both died.

Margaret McCoy was shot twice in the head on the evening of April 15 before Virgil McCoy called 911 and then turned the gun on himself, Lorain County Coroner Stephen Evans said.

Listen to the 911 call:

There was no suicide note, and the bodies were found about noon the next day by relatives.

Evans said Elyria police later determined that Virgil McCoy had called 911 at 10:14 p.m. April 15 and said in a low voice that he had shot his wife.

The 911 dispatcher apparently did not hear him, and the call was transferred to Elyria police, but McCoy hung up after a few words, so no one realized until later that help was needed, Evans said.

Margaret McCoy, 65, was found on the floor of a rear porch of her home at Pikewood Manor mobile home park near Midway Mall and her glasses were found outside, Evans said.

“There was a belief from Elyria police that there was a struggle because her glasses were found in the yard and she was found in the breezeway,” Evans said.

Virgil “Gene” McCoy, 63, was in a chair inside the home with a .38-caliber revolver nearby. He also had been shot in the head, according to police.

911 Director Robin Jones said the 911 dispatcher was not disciplined because she did not hear McCoy say he shot his wife.

There is background noise in the call center including other calls and the police scanner, Jones said.

“The call was handled per procedure,” Jones said.

In the brief 911 recording at 10:14 p.m. April 15, McCoy is questioned by the 911 operator about whether he needs police, fire or an ambulance. He said he needed police and the 911 operator asked for the location.

McCoy replied, “I want to tell you what’s happening first — I just killed my wife.”

In the event the 911 dispatcher had heard McCoy say he killed his wife, she would have told police exactly what they were dealing with, Jones said.

Before transferring the call to Elyria police, the 911 dispatcher can be heard confirming McCoy’s cell phone number and asking McCoy for his address — 187 Gull Drive.

McCoy hung up quickly after being transferred to Elyria police, Elyria police Lt. Chris Costantino said.

“The call was transferred to our dispatcher,” Costantino said. “Mr. McCoy started to say, he just — then he hung up the phone and did not finish his statement.”

Police were not aware of the contents of the call to 911 — both the address and the statement that McCoy killed his wife, Costantino said. They did not check on the McCoys because police cannot trace the location of a cell phone call, he said.

The front door of the mobile home at 187 Gull Drive was unlocked when police arrived the next day, police said.

There was no note, and family members told authorities they had last spoken with the couple at about 6 p.m. April 15.

The motive for the killing remains a mystery, Elyria police Sgt. Lee Frank said.

“We’ll never know — there’s no note or any indication they were having problems, Frank said.

Margaret McCoy worked at the Genesis House shelter for battered women, where she worked with domestic violence victims in Oberlin Municipal Court.

Staff reporter Kiera Manion-Fischer also contributed to this report. Contact Cindy Leise at 329-7245 or cleise@chroniclet.com.

ELYRIA — The county coroner postponed the autopsy on Safety Service Director Chris Eichenlaub for a day while waiting for medical officials to determine if he could be an organ donor as desired.

Chris Eichenlaub

“LifeBanc has to do its thing first and the autopsy is delayed until then,” County Coroner Stephen Evans said.

Evans said the delay hasn’t changed his preliminary finding that Eichenlaub, 58, died after suffering a medical event, possibly a heart attack, causing him to lose control of his 2007 Ford Explorer on Sunday morning. He went through two yards and hit two trees before coming to rest in the front yard of a home near Park and Miami avenues.

Hadie Bartholomew, spokeswoman for LifeBanc, the area’s nonprofit organ procurement organization, said patient privacy prevents her from commenting on specific cases, but in general when a person dies and they have expressed a desire to be an organ donor, doctors must determine if they are a good candidate.

Steps are taken to keep the organs viable for transplant and — if a person is a good candidate for donation — organs are typically recovered within 24 to 36 hours.

Bartholomew said any one person can donate up to eight organs — heart, both lungs, both kidneys, the pancreas, liver and intestines — and tissue matter. And 98 percent of people who wish to be organ donors state so when getting driver’s licenses, just like Eichenlaub, Bartholomew said.

The Laubenthal-Mercado Funeral Home is handing funeral arrangements.

In the meantime, fellow city officials who worked with Eichenlaub daily continue to mourn.

Elyria City Council members have decided to postpone tonight’s Finance and Community Development Committee meetings.

Council President Forrest Bullocks, D-2nd Ward, said the meeting was postponed because Eichenlaub was an important part of the city’s operations and many employees are in shock over his death.

“I still can’t believe it,” Bullocks said.

Agenda items scheduled for discussion tonight will be discussed at a future meeting.

Bullocks said the only pressing item involves whether Council will give Mayor Bill Grace the authority to discuss a possible agreement with the Lorain County Metro Parks on the operations of Cascade Park. A committee is being formed to be a part of the discussion, and Bullocks said those committee members will be discussed and chosen at 6:30 p.m. Monday, just prior to the regular Council meeting.

Councilman Tom Callahan, D-at large, and head of the Council’s Community Development Committee, said he always found Eichenlaub to be knowledgeable on city issues and easy to work with as an administrator. He considered him to be more of a friend.

“I still can’t grasp what happened,” he said.

Councilman Vic Stewart, D-at large, and head of the Finance Committee, said Eichenlaub had his hand in everything and postponing the meeting made sense.

Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com.

ELYRIA — The Elyria High School homecoming queen is facing charges in Lorain County Juvenile Court after she hosted a party at her home on Harwood Street with loud music, alcohol and more than 60 kids.

Elyria Homecoming Queen Emily Norris, 17, a senior. (CT photo by Chuck Humel.)

Police were called to the home shortly after 12:30 a.m. Sunday and it took almost three hours for the parents of all of the partygoers to arrive to pick up their teenagers. Partygoers hampered the efforts because they refused to open the door for officers, a police report said.

Emily Norris, 17, was charged with underage possession of alcohol and obstructing official business. She was released to her father and was told to expect more information in the mail to tell her when to appear in court.

Norris was crowned homecoming queen during Friday’s game. Elyria High Principal Tom Jama said Norris will not be stripped of her title.

Jama said the school’s resource officer informed him of the party Monday morning and he began rounding up students suspected of being in attendance. Each was interviewed separately and asked if they were drinking or were in possession of alcohol.

At least 15 were student-athletes, including several football players. Jama said the students who are not athletes were not interviewed.

“But the athletes are put to a higher standard,” Jama said. “There is a drug and alcohol policy whereby if students are found to be in possession of drugs or alcohol, even if they are off school property, there are consequences for those students.”

Jama said after the interviews it was found that none of the athletes were drinking, in possession or under the influence of alcohol at the party and as a result will face no school discipline.

Homecoming King Fayaven Barbee did not attend the party, said his mother, Valerie Barbee. He was at home, she said.

The party took place after the homecoming dance at the high school. It was not sanctioned by the district and, according to a police report, there was no adult supervision.

Officers went to the home after receiving a complaint from neighbors about loud music and open containers outside the home.

Once at the house, officers saw two teenage males standing in the driveway and noticed several people inside the home and attached garage. However, as soon as officers made their presence known, the lights were shut off inside the home and the blinds and curtains were closed.

The report said officers stood outside for several minutes knocking on the door and yelling through windows to no avail and had to call for more officers to secure the front and rear of the home. The police dispatcher called the home several times and officers could hear the phone ring through open windows.

After a while, officers left the immediate area and parked nearby to see if any of the partygoers would leave. The report said moments after clearing the area, at least 20 kids came out of the house, at which time officers quickly drove back up and began rounding kids up.

Officers entered the home after Norris reluctantly opened the door because she did not want officers to damage it while attempting to apprehend multiple fleeing suspects.

In all, about 60 kids were found in various places in the home.

The report said all of the teens 18 and older were released and minors were released to their parents.

Norris’ mother, Michelle Ryan, was out of town at the time and was notified about the party by police.

Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com.

Elyria City Council members have decided to cancel tomorrow’s Finance and Community Development Committee meetings as city officials mourn the loss of Safety Service Director Chris Eichenlaub, who was killed in a car crash Sunday morning. (more…)