Essex Police Inspector Donald Wolfe said yesterday the Massachusetts state medical examiner has ruled the death of Sarah Devens '96a suicide.
Devens, a three-sport varsity athlete at the College, shot herself Monday afternoon at her home in Essex, Mass. Devens did not leave a suicide note and Wolfe said the Essex police department has closed its investigation into the matter.
"We're not searching for a motive," Wolfe said. "It is now a personal matter for the family."
Wolfe said the police have ruled out foul play and that neither drugs nor alcohol was involved. He also said the death was not an accident.
Dr. Gerald Feigin of Tewksbury State Hospital performed an autopsy on Devens' body yesterday, but the results of the autopsy were not made public. Feigin could not be reached for comment.
An official at the state medical examiner's office who saw the report said yesterday the autopsy named suicide as the cause of death. Wolfe confirmed that report last night.
The official, who did not wish to be named, said according to the autopsy report, Devens died of a gunshot wound to her chest. Wolfe also confirmed this report and added the time of death could not be determined.
Wolfe said Tuesday the on-scene medical examiner initially believed Devens fired the bullet into her head, but could not determine its point of entry. Wolfe said he thought the wound was sufficient to kill Devens instantly.
The autopsy results are scheduled to be released today.
Devens' family was not available for comment last night. Dean of the College Lee Pelton said the family has asked him to act as their spokesman.
Pelton declined to comment last night on whether Devens' death was a suicide. "At this point, the family feels it is a private matter," Pelton said. "They would like us to focus on her academic and athletic achievements."
Devens, a 21-year-old psychology major, was found Monday at 1:30 p.m. in her home by a female friend who planned to go mountain biking with Devens, Wolfe said Tuesday.
The friend immediately called an ambulance and the police, but Devens was dead before either arrived, Wolfe said. He would not release the friend's name.
Wolfe said Devens was found lying in her bed with a .22-caliber rifle at her side. He said only one bullet had been fired. The rifle, which was kept in the house, belonged to her father, Charles.
Massachusetts State Police Trooper Bobby Irwin said Devens was taken to the morgue at Tewksbury State Hospital.
Devens is the second Dartmouth student in less than two years to commit suicide. In October 1993, Dan Boyer '94 shot himself in the head at Welch's Gun Shop in Lebanon. The Grafton County Attorney's office ruled Boyer's deatha suicide.
"These were two students who had some deep, personal issues and problems which apparently they felt they could not sort out except through this extreme measure," Pelton said Tuesday. "That is all that one can say."
Director of Counseling and Human Development Jeffrey Hersh said people will never know why Devens took her own life.
"Her family and friends will try to understand what was going on for her," he said. "But unless somebody lets you, you can never get deeply inside somebody's private thoughts."
"Around something like this, you don't really want to guess," Hersh said. "If you generalize, it really trivializes somebody's mind."
Maura Schneider '96, who lived with Devens during their freshman year and played lacrosse with her, said Tuesday she did not know why Devens committed suicide. But Schneider speculated "It was just years of bottling things up."
"There were a lot of underlying problems that contributed to it," she said. "I never would have thought it would have gone that far. It was just years of pushing things inside."
Hersh said the use of a gun is an uncommon method for a woman to commit suicide.
"All suicide is violent," Hersh said yesterday. "But the use of guns is aggressive ... Men tend to use guns. The theory is that men are more aggressive."
Hersh said women are more likely to commit suicide by overdosing on pills or through other methods.
