CLEVELAND — More than eight years after Cory Barron fell down a garbage chute at Progressive Field and his body was found at an Oberlin landfill, investigators have updated his manner of death.
A police source confirmed to 3News on Monday that the Lorain County Coroner has now ruled Barron's death as a homicide. On Tuesday, the Lorain County Coroner's Office confirmed the news, issuing the following statement to 3News:
"Since the death of Cory Barron in 2014, additional investigation has been conducted by private investigators and the Cleveland Division of Police. The Lorain County Coroner has been provided with information by the Cleveland Police that Cory Barron was involved in an altercation at Progressive Field prior to his disappearance and death. In light of the additional information, his death was due to the actions or failure to act of another person or persons. The manner of death for Cory Barron has been changed from undetermined to homicide.
"The cause of death for Cory Barron is unchanged and is sequelae of multiple blunt impacts to the head, trunk and extremities due to descent down a trash chute into an enclosed dumpster. The manner is homicide."
On July 18, 2014, the 22-year-old Barron attended a Jason Aldean concert at Progressive Field. Barron, who had been drinking that night, went into a back room during the show and fell down a garbage chute. His body was discovered at the Lorain County Landfill four days later.
Two months after Barron's death, then-Lorain County Coroner Dr. Steven Evans ruled that there was no foul play involved in the incident. The cause of death was ruled as multiple blunt force impact from the five-story fall down a Progressive Field trash chute, and death was immediate.
Evans added there was nothing to indicate Barron's fall was not accidental. Tests detected the presence of alcohol, but due to the condition of the body, Evans couldn't say how much. He said no other drugs were detected in Barron's system.
"I'm less than happy," Evans said at the time of his report's release. "We'll never know the circumstances of how he wound up in the trash chute. I wish I had that for the family."
Despite the coroner's report, the Barron family has never stopped looking for answers. In 2019, his family hired a detective, established a hotline, and offered $50,000 for information leading to an indictment in their son’s death.
“We believe that somebody hit him in the head, kicked him in the ribs, picked him up and dropped him down that chute,” said Dick Wrenn, the private investigator hired by the Barron family.
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