The results of a DNA test on a strand of black hair could help uncover a mystery around the death of a 50-year-old Philadelphia woman who seemingly choked on a disinfectant wipe at a care facility offering intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Services.
On January 26, 2022, Cheryl Yewdall was found with her face on the floor, in a pool of urine, suffocating on a large disinfectant wipe at Merakey Woodhaven. She died five days later.
The medical examiner’s office couldn’t figure out how the wipe had lodged into her trachea, leaving it an open question as to whether her death was an accident or a homicide. No one has been arrested in connection with Yewdall’s death., but attorneys for her family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in August 2022.
But there was a clue discovered on a magnified photo of the wipe that could serve as a key piece of evidence to solve the mystery: a strand of hair.
More than two years after Yewdall’s tragic death, on Friday, attorneys representing her family asked the court to order DNA testing on the hair, the Associated Press reported.
They are looking for answers as to “whether the hair located on the wipe or the wipe itself contains any DNA not belonging to Cheryl Yewdall,” said the filing, which was obtained by the outlet.
The lawyers attached photos, noting that Yewdall’s hair was mostly gray.
“Cheryl’s mom hired me to get justice for Cheryl,” attorney James Pepper told the outlet. “The DNA analysis of this previously unaccounted single strand of hair holds the promise of getting Cheryl that justice.”
The 2022 complaint states that Yewdall needed 24-hour supervision, noting she suffered from “severe mental retardation and cerebral palsy.” The lawyers wrote that Yewdall had “had no history of dysphagia, or swallowing difficulties.”
“She was just so sweet and innocent and helpless, and she depended on them to care for her and love her and be safe,” Yewdall’s mother, Christine Civatte, told the Associated Press after the lawsuit was filed. “I just thought they would protect her.”
Merakey has denied any responsibility in her death.
