Cause Of Death Revealed For Founder Of African American Museum

Coroner’s Office Reveals Cause Of Death For Founder Of African American Museum Who Was Discovered In Car Trunk

More info has surfaced around the Louisiana founder of an African American history museum who was found dead in a car trunk.

According to NBC News, Sadie Roberts-Joseph died of “traumatic asphyzia,” which includes suffocation, according to the East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s office. Baton Rouge police also confirmed that the vehicle Roberts-Joseph was found in on Friday was actually her car.

“It is with great sadness and respect we investigate any unexpected or traumatic death,” the coroner’s office reported on Monday. “When our investigation involves an innocent victim, such as Ms. Sadie Joseph, it is particularly tragic. Our condolences are extended to Ms. Joseph’s family and friends.”

It’s uncertain what occurred in the two-hour window between when the family last saw Roberts-Joseph and when the 75-year-old was found dead.

“It’s horrible that somebody would actually come to Aunt Sadie and kill her and put her in her own trunk,” Robert-Joseph’s niece Pat McCallister-Leduff said. “I just couldn’t imagine what they could have said to her or what could have happened to make them do that. She never would deserve anything like that.”

McCallister-Leduff is asking that whoever killed her aunt to “just come forward.”

“Just tell us, let us know who did this,” she said. “Who did this?”

Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome explained that Roberts-Joseph’s development of the museum is “a testament of her visionary and pioneering leadership.”

“She loved this city and its people,” Broome wrote in a Facebook post. “Her commitment to the cultural and educational fabric of our community is beyond description.”

Broome said a reward of up to $5,000 is being offered for info that could lead to an arrest.