A 38-year-old woman was found unconscious in the doorway of an apartment building in Chelsea last Sunday morning. The body was identified as Kiersten Cerveny, a dermatologist and mother of three.
Surveillance cameras showed two men carrying her body toward the lobby of the upscale 5-storey building. One of the men called 911 to report the incident but fled the scene before police arrived.
Mystery surrounds the death of a dermatologist whose body was found in a NYC doorway http://t.co/jHQJeOIIQ1 pic.twitter.com/BN8mEi9C1l
— People magazine (@people) October 6, 2015
“Her feet were holding the front door open, and her head was by the corner of the door frame,” said one EMT who arrived at the scene. Police identified the two men as Marc Henry Johnson, an HBO producer, and alleged drug dealer James ‘Pepsi’ Holder. However, they will not be facing any charges because initial investigation shows that the death might be due to a drug overdose. The official cause of death of Cerveny has not been determined after the autopsy. At the moment, results of her toxicology tests have yet to be released. Some sources claim that she had been taking cocaine and drinking heavily before she died. According to witnesses, Cerveny and Johnson met at a Lower East Side bar, but left at around 4:30 a.m. and met up with Holder, who lives in the building where Cerveny’s body was found. They also speculated that Cerveny and Johnson were romantically involved and that Holder was a drug dealer.
EXCLUSIVE: Doctor was ‘doing cocaine’ with men before found dead in a Manhattan doorway http://t.co/lf1VtWpaAb pic.twitter.com/wgnIWttKGd — Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) October 5, 2015
Some residents claimed that the building where Cerveny was found is a frequent party spot. There was a strong smell of marijuana in the building when police arrived and Cerveny’s condition looked like had been partying all night.
“That was one of my first thoughts. She looked like someone who had been out partying for a very long time,” a neighbor said.
The police found her fully clothed except for her underwear which they found inside her purse. She also had bruises in her neck, although they were allegedly caused by a recent surgery, according to police.
Police are still investigating and not ruling out homicide yet, though initial investigation showed drug overdose.
Police are probing the death of Kiersten Cerveny as a drug overdose but are not ruling out homicide just yet.