Probe into 2 deaths moves ahead

OLYMPIA — A stalled investigation into the deaths of two women at a home for the disabled is moving ahead, state officials said Friday.

The probes should be complete in about a month, said Jeff Weathersby, a spokesman for the state Department of Social and Health Services. Each investigation will cost the state $5,000.

The investigations, which began in September, had foundered as the state and the Kitsap County coroner disagreed about sharing some evidence in the case of Kristina M. Shannon.

Shannon, 29, lived at the Frances Haddon Morgan Center in Bremerton. She died July 2, and the coroner's report attributed her death to acute drug intoxication from an over-the-counter antihistamine.

That was followed by the death of Jenny A. Jessup, 27, on Sept. 4. Her death was ruled natural by the county, attributed to a blood infection resulting from an obstructed and ruptured bowel.

State officials disagreed with the drug finding in Shannon's death and ordered an independent review of both cases.