Cause of man's death ruled undetermined

YOUNGSTOWN

The death of a man in March, which the Mahoning County Coroner’s Office said was from “complications of blunt force injuries to the trunk” because of a beating, has been ruled undetermined.

The ruling was released Friday in the case of Jose Luis Baez Jr., 55, of Youngstown, who died March 30 in hospice care, about a week after he was treated for a beating he sustained March 23.

Police investigated the case but it is not known if they ever made an arrest.

The coroner’s report noted that Baez suffered from Hepatitis C and AIDs, according to the coroner’s report.

Baez was dropped off at his home March 23 by a man who said Baez was beaten, but the man did not say who beat Baez.

Baez left the hospital against medical advice but returned March 24, the report said. He left again against advice and returned in an ambulance March 25. He was transferred to the hospice March 28, where he died a couple of days later.

Police investigated the area around Rigby Street to see if they could find any evidence of a beating, the coroner’s report said.