State returns lab results Tuesday

MOSES LAKE — Two months after Jason Edward Turner's body was found in Ephrata, the cause of the 23-year-old Ephrata man's death was ruled hypothermia.

Two men found Turner's body Nov. 3 near an Odessa Union warehouse.

Turner was known to work in a welding shop in Moses Lake. He was living in a mobile home in Ephrata when he died, according to police.

An autopsy was performed and a toxicology screening sent to the Washington State Patrol crime lab in Seattle to determine the cause of death.

"He died of hypothermia due to exposure to the cold," said Grant County Chief Deputy Coroner Lynette Henson. "There was alcohol involved, but it was not the direct cause."

The crime lab took more than two months to return results on a toxicology screening, according to Henson. The results were received Tuesday.

— Staff report