Cyanide Poisoning Cause of UPMC Researcher's Death

This afternoon, the Allegheny County medical examiner’s office announced what caused the death of a Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC researcher earlier this month.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Nicole Kotchey, 34, died from acute cyanide poisoning. “The manner of death is undetermined pending further investigation. No further information is available at this time,” the medical examiner’s office said in a news release.

UPMC has been cooperating with authorities every step of the way since Kotchey’s death. Kotchey collapsed at work on Nov. 12 and died in the intensive care unit later that day, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.