PHILADELPHIA (CBS/AP) — The criminal investigation into a Philadelphia woman’s choking death at a nursing home in 2022 has been renewed , with the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office now getting involved in testing evidence in the case.
Cheryl Yewdall’s relatives have been seeking answers ever since she choked to death on Jan. 31, 2022, at the Merakey Woodhaven facility in Philadelphia, a care home for people with developmental difficulties. Cheryl was 50 years old.
Now, the AG’s office will test DNA from a hair found on a wipe that was pulled from Yewdall’s throat.
Staff discovered Yewdall lying face down on the floor with blue lips and in a pool of urine. She was taken to a hospital but died five days later. The medical examiner’s office said it couldn’t determine how the 7-by-10-inch (18-by-25-centimeter) wipe got into her airway, leaving unresolved whether her death was accidental or a homicide. No charges have been filed.