The Pennsylvania attorney general’s office plans to test DNA from a hair found on a wipe that was pulled from the throat of a woman who lived at a care home for people with developmental difficulties.
The testing is part of a renewed criminal investigation into Cheryl Yewdall’s choking death in Philadelphia nearly three years ago, according to court documents filed Thursday.
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 the 50-year-old’s death on Jan. 31, 2022, was accidental or a homicide. No charges have been filed.
Yewdall’s family have been seeking answers to what befell her, and they welcomed the developments.
“Cheryl’s mom is very happy that the attorney general’s office has taken this further necessary step to find out what happened to her daughter at Merakey. She wants — and deserves — answers,” family attorney James Pepper said.