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Warsaw Man's Death Probed As Possible Narcotics Case

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The death of a rural Warsaw man is under investigation as possibly being narcotics related.

John M. Murphy, 40, of West CR 400S, Warsaw, was pronounced dead at Kosciusko Community Hospital Sunday morning after collapsing on a deck outside his home. CPR was in progress when police arrived, but Murphy apparently never regained consciousness after the 5:09 a.m. incident.

According to a police report, Dan Murphy said that his brother, John, had gone into town about two hours earlier to get some cocaine and that, when he returned, John was bragging about how good the cocaine was. Dan told police that John was acting "really strange and paranoid."

Just before John collapsed, the report noted, he went outside to look for six males he claimed he saw. Dan told police he then heard John yell an expletive and heard a "bang." He went outside and found his brother face down on the deck and not breathing. He dragged him inside and began CPR until emergency personnel arrived.

An autopsy was scheduled for this morning and Kosciusko County Coroner Larry Ladd is awaiting toxicology report results before ruling on a cause of death.