Cullman County woman's death ruled not suspicious

Cullman Police say preliminary autopsy results show a resident found unconscious Saturday morning and who later died was not a victim of a crime. A neighbor found 48-year old Shelia Givens unconscious outside her home in the Twin Willow Apartments Saturday morning. She died later that day.

From the beginning, investigators were not sure whether Givens died as a result of a medical situation or if she were a homicide victim. On Monday, officials at the Alabama Forensic Lab in Huntsville conducted an autopsy on Givens.

"The very first thing it said is the injuries she has are consistent with a fall she took," Assistant Police Chief Craig Green said Monday afternoon.

He stressed that Monday's findings are preliminary reports and that the full autopsy would not be completed for another four to six months. He says the department will continue to investigate the matter until the final report comes back, but he we felt comfortable Monday's findings are a huge piece of the puzzle.

"I think this is promising. It's going to be helpful most of all, we hope, for the family," he said.

Green says the department is not basing their findings solely on the autopsy.

"We've done lots of interviews, talked to witnesses, talked to the last person we believe she was with, gone back to the scene, searched her apartment and met with the family," Green said. "We believe so far, what we've found out today is consistent with what we've found out so far in the investigation. "

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