After George Washington University junior Laura Treanor was found dead in her dorm room Friday morning, AU Public Safety asserted its confidence in AU's ability to handle a similar crisis.
The Metropolitan Police Department had not yet determined the cause of Treanor's death as of press time Sunday, but it has reported that the death appears to have been of natural causes and is not likely a homicide or suicide. MPD has classified the death as suspicious until the cause is known. An autopsy showed no trauma to the body, but the results of a toxicology screening will not be back for another month, according to the GW Hatchet blog.
Treanor, a 19-year-old New York native, was the Hatchet's contributing life editor and a member of the Phi Sigma Sigma sorority, according to the Hatchet.
A roommate found Treanor's body at 8:30 a.m. in her dorm room in the Ivory Tower. A representative from the Medical Examiner's office declared her dead at about 10 a.m. An Alert D.C. text message was sent regarding the incident, the Hatchet reported.
AU Public Safety Chief Michael McNair called the death "tragic and untimely," but he said he is confident that AU would have the resources to bounce back from a similar situation on campus.
"In general, AU is set up to handle the mechanics of student deaths on campus and deal with the emotional trauma in their aftermath," McNair said in an e-mail. "However I pray every day that we will never have to put those procedures into action."
In the event of an AU student death, Public Safety would immediately notify the Office of Campus Life and MPD, McNair said in the e-mail. While MPD would handle the police investigation, Campus Life would be responsible the notifications, grief counseling and other necessary courses of action.
GW President Steven Knapp posted a letter of condolence Friday on the university's Web site, in which he expressed his deep regret of the tragedy.
"The loss of any young person is devastating and reminds us all to cherish each day, to take care of each other, and to hold fast to our families and friends," Knapp said in the letter.
GW Campus Advisories, an online notification system used by the university's Office of Public Safety to keep students informed of campus incidents, posted three updates throughout the day on Friday regarding the investigation surrounding Treanor's death.
Treanor's mother, Ann-Marie Treanor, told the Hatchet Friday that her daughter had recently been experiencing headaches and chronic bruising and had also been treated for Lyme disease in the fall.
Treanor's roommates had found blood on Laura's nose and pillowcase Friday morning, according to the Hatchet.
You can reach this staff writer at mkendall@theeagleonline.com.
