Northampton County Inmate Suffers Fatal Heart Attack

Northampton County coroner Zachary Lysek says a prison inmate died after having a heart attack Thursday.

An inmate from Bethlehem suffered a fatal heart attack Thursday at Northampton County Prison, according to the county coroner. Carl Leh, 50, was found in the midst of cardiac arrest Thursday morning, said Coroner Zachary Lysek.  Staff members tried to resuscitate Leh and called 911. He was taken to Easton Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. An autospy will be performed Lysek said. Leh was in prison for allegedly assaulting his wife at their home last month, the Express-Times reports.

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Nazareth High Grad Killed in Easton Shooting

Matthew Kelly, 20, a graduate of Nazareth Area High School, died following a shooting Sunday in Easton.

Northampton County's coroner has identified the man who died after a shooting Sunday night in Easton's West Ward -- he's a Nazareth High School graduate. Matthew Kelly, 20, of Bethlehem, died Sunday of a gunshot wound, Coroner Zachary Lysek said. Lysek ruled the death a homicide following an autopsy Monday morning. Kelly was one of two men shot Sunday night in the 1100 block of Spruce Street, in a church parking lot. The Express-Times says he's a 2010 graduate of Nazareth Area High School. The other man was wounded, but is expected to survive. Police have not released his name. According to WFMZ, this man was shot and also stabbed. Investigators say they are trying to determine whether Kelly and the other victim shot each other, or if …

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Michael Powers, 19, Killed in Forks Township Crash

Michael Powers, 19, a graduate of Nazareth Area High School, was killed when his vehicle hit a building in Forks Township early Friday morning.

Michael Powers, 19, of Shelley Street in Tatamy, was killed in a one-vehicle accident when his car plowed into a commercial building near the intersection of Bushkill Drive and Mitman Road in Forks Township early Friday morning, officials have confirmed. Powers was a 2010 graduate of Nazareth Area High School. Emergency crews were called to the scene shortly after 7 a.m. and the roof of the car reportedly needed to be removed to free the driver, who was apparently already dead when they arrived, according to scanner reports. Northampton County Coroner Zachary Lysek said that Powers died of multiple blunt force trauma at the scene. The death was ruled an accident, but the investigation into the circumstances that led to the accident is …

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Nazareth Woman Killed in Route 33 Crash

According to witnesses, Shawnalai Werkheiser, 22, was traveling at a high rate of speed before the one-vehicle crash in Plainfield Township.

A Nazareth woman was killed in a one-vehicle accident Sunday on Route 33 in Plainfield Township, according to state police at Belfast. According to witnesses, Shawnalai Werkheiser, 22, of Wood Street was traveling at a high rate of speed and weaving between lanes before the crash, police said. The accident occurred around noon. Two people -- one of them a nurse -- pulled Werkheiser from her 2000 Honda Civic, according to police and attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Werkheiser was pronounced dead at the scene by Northampton County Coroner Zachary Lysek. In addition to Plainfield Township fire and EMS, Suburban EMS assisted.

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Citizens' Police Academy

Citizens’ Police Academy: Week Three

The apprehensive -- yet curious -- editor of Nazareth Patch listens to a presentation by Northampton County Coroner Zachary Lysek.

To say I was a bit apprehensive about this week’s Citizens’ Police Academy class would be… well, true. Wednesday night’s presenter was Northampton County Coroner Zachary Lysek, someone I’ve spoken to in the past for work purposes. I’m not an uber-squeamish person -- needles don’t freak me out, the sight of blood doesn’t make me wig, and hospitals don’t give me the heebee-jeebees. But death and dead bodies? That’s where I cross the line. You should have seen my face when I learned what a cadaver was for the first time, and that my college used them for educational purposes -- and that the Gross Anatomy lab was right next to my math class. I'm sure the professor I was interviewing for my college's newspaper couldn't wait for the poor …

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