A Life in Pieces, and a Coroner's Attempt to Put Them Together

There is a particular sadness that accompanies a death that unfolds in pieces—a life that becomes a series of locations on a map, timestamps on a surveillance tape, medications not taken, a door opened and then closed. The death of Elena Katherine Moore, a 39-year-old fitness trainer from Lexington, South Carolina, has been such a story, and this week authorities offered what they hope will be its final chapter.

Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher announced Friday that Moore died from complications of cardiac dysrhythmia with premature ventricular contractions, a condition involving an abnormal heart rhythm . The manner of death was natural causes. The autopsy found no evidence of traumatic injuries—no broken bones, no strangulation, no sexual assault. Toxicology testing detected alcohol but no other substances .

Moore's body was found on June 17, six days after she disappeared following her release from a mental health facility . The coroner confirmed that Moore had been involuntarily committed on June 5 after experiencing what Fisher described as a severe mental health crisis. She remained at the facility until June 11, when she was discharged and placed in a taxi. Her husband, Brannon Slice, had offered to pick her up, but the facility arranged transportation instead .

The taxi took Moore to a CVS in Lexington, where she previously worked. Fisher said Moore entered the store and told a manager that the taxi driver was stalking her and trying to hurt her. The manager contacted police, but Moore was gone by the time officers arrived . Slice later told investigators that Moore had checked into a Planet Fitness that evening. She was subsequently seen on surveillance footage walking through a Publix parking lot before heading toward a wooded area behind a nearby Lowe's Home Improvement store .

The coroner addressed speculation that had surrounded Moore's husband, saying Slice was never considered a suspect or person of interest in the investigation. She credited him with repeatedly trying to get his wife help. "The only person that really tried to help this girl to get her help through the system is her husband," Fisher said. "He reached out. He tried many times to get her help" .

Investigators reviewed medical records dating back years, including evidence that Moore had experienced an irregular heartbeat since she was 14. More recent records documented cardiac arrhythmia, sinus tachycardia, and hypertension . During Friday's news conference, Fisher questioned why Moore had been discharged from the mental health facility despite what she described as a documented psychiatric crisis. "This whole situation would be different if somebody at that mental health facility ... they all saw her medical, her mental crisis," Fisher said. "But yet she was released" .

Moore's story drew widespread attention because of her public profile as a fitness enthusiast and bodybuilder, and because of the puzzling circumstances of her disappearance. The coroner acknowledged this attention, noting that similar cases of mental illness and death occur regularly without public notice. "She was in a full mental health crisis—so many people missed it," Fisher said .

The Lexington County Coroner's Office has closed its investigation. No criminal charges are expected.

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Sources: Fox News, Lexington County Coroner's Office, Daily Mail, New York Post