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Jun. 15--The first emergency medical team was not called to a badly beaten Lexington woman last week until after the coroner's office ruled she was still alive almost five hours after police arrived at the scene.
Previous reports were unclear as to whether an ambulance had been called earlier in the day.
Marshall Griggs, battalion chief for the fire department, which provides emergency medical service, said Monday that the department was not notified of the situation until 11:08 p.m. Wednesday -- three minutes after the Fayette County coroner determined Umi Southworth, 44, was still alive, but several hours after police found the woman, whom they presumed to be dead. Griggs said he didn't know whether it was standard procedure for officers to call EMTs as well as the coroner when they find what they believe to be a dead body. Sometimes officers call EMTs, and other times they don't, he said.
Police spokeswoman Sherelle Roberts said Monday that an internal investigation is ongoing. Last week, police chief Ronnie Bastin issued a release saying that the Lexington Division of Police was investigating the department's response "to determine if there was a personnel or policy failure."
"If we find there has been such a failure, we will take appropriate action," the release said.
Roberts said she could not say exactly what the internal investigation consisted of.
"We'll be able to talk about policies and protocols and where we're going to go from here after our investigation is complete," she said.
According to police records, Southworth was in the bushes behind her four-plex at 1486 Meadowthorpe Avenue with severe head and facial injuries.
Griggs said the fire department arrived at the scene at 11:11 p.m. with "advanced life support" units. Southworth arrived at University of Kentucky Hospital at 11:33 p.m., where she died the next day.
Southworth was originally reported missing by her co-workers at Fazoli's corporate headquarters, where she worked as an accountant. Officers arrived at her residence at 6:21 p.m.
Meanwhile, neighbors were still on edge Monday as no arrests have been made in the case.
About 5 p.m., a passing motorist called police to report that a woman was on the front porch of Southworth's four-plex with a gun.
Responding officers barricaded the street and cautiously approached the property, only to discover the woman was a resident who had come outside to smoke a cigarette, Lt. Chris Van Brackel said.
"Being cautious, she brought a gun out with her," he said. "Everyone is a little bit nervous."
Van Brackel said that detectives were working on the case and that officers were taking steps to make sure the neighborhood is safe.
"This was a safe neighborhood last week, and it's a safe neighborhood right now," he said.
