Ausman
The Ingham County Medical Examiner continues to investigate the cause of an MSU student’s death after an autopsy performed Thursday yielded inconclusive results.
Don Ausman, a 22-year-old interdisciplinary studies in social science and international studies senior, was found dead in his Spartan Village apartment Wednesday morning shortly after 9:15 a.m., police said.
Ingham County Chief Medical Examiner Dean Sienko said no new information will be available until an autopsy can positively determine the cause of death.
“We just need to do some more tests before we can release that information publicly,” Sienko said.
MSU police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor said the department cannot release any more information regarding the investigation that took place in Ausman’s apartment. She said the department only can classify the death as “suspicious” until the medical examiner’s office completes its investigation.
Ausman’s friends said he was a fun-loving guy who loved meeting new people and making his friends smile.
“He loved to laugh and have fun and just really loved disco,” said Ali Doyle, a friend of Ausman’s. “He wanted to know everyone and make people laugh.”
The secondary education junior met Ausman on an Alternative Spring Break trip last year. She said the reality of his passing hadn’t yet registered in her mind.
“I’m still in shock; I can’t believe it,” Doyle said. “Every time I think of it, it just comes back and it’s so awful that such a great person isn’t with us anymore.”
Doug Merian, a packaging sophomore, met Ausman in October. Merian said Ausman was a light-hearted person who always tried to make his friends laugh.
“Every time he came over, he made us feel like his best friends,” Merian said. “He just made everyone feel so comfortable — you’d just connect with him.”
A story of how Merian met Ausman summed up Ausman’s goofy nature, Merian said.
It was Halloween weekend, and Merian sewed a part of Ausman’s astronaut costume. After finishing the repair, Merian told Ausman he and his roommates were going to a party on Abbot Road that night — but he didn’t plan on seeing Ausman there.
“Later on that night, he just opened up the front door with this awesome costume,” Merian said. “It was like a movie, with smoke coming in, and he just stepped in and started dancing and everyone was yelling.
“We didn’t even tell him what house we were going to be at. It’s something I’m never going to forget.”
Police did not specify when they expected laboratory tests, including toxicology reports, to be completed.
Phone messages left Thursday with Ausman’s father were not returned to The State News.
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