[Online] Man involved with cadaver scandal found dead

A former employee of UCLA’s Willed Body Program was found dead
in his North Hollywood apartment on July 9.

Keith Lewis was implicated in the Willed Body Program scandal
that rocked UCLA in March and consequently, placed on leave at that
time. According to a university police search warrant, Lewis had
confessed to helping Ernest Nelson – who was charged with receiving
stolen body parts – cut up bodies and to receiving $2,000 in
gratuities.

Police found Lewis’ body on his bathroom floor after receiving a
call from his friends who said they "hadn’t heard or seen from him
in a while," said Detective Mike Coffey of the Los Angeles Police
Department’s North Hollywood Division.

Police officials are calling the death of Lewis, 47, a "possible
accidental drug overdose," after finding a syringe next to his
body, Coffey said.

The official cause of death is still pending, but specimens from
the body – which were taken during the autopsy – have been sent for
toxicology analysis, said Fred Corral, a spokesmen for the
coroner’s office.

The final determination of Lewis’ death will be made when the
results are sent back in about eight to 10 weeks, Corral added.

"What remains in the investigation is the results from
toxicology. We want to know what kinds of drugs and the quantity in
his system," Coffey said.

News of Lewis’ death has affected some parts of UCLA community
prompting various responses.

"We are saddened by the death of Keith Lewis and our sympathies
go out to his family," said UCLA Spokeswoman Roxanne Moster in an
e-mail.

Meanwhile Keith Ellis, a hospital lab technician and a past
coworker of Lewis expressed surprise upon reading about the death
in the morning newspaper, but had not had extensive interaction
with Lewis when he was a UCLA employee.