One teenage student at Indiana College vanished without a trace after sending cryptic text messages to his sister’s phone and then going missing. Only days later, his body was pulled from a nearby lake but the discovery raised more questions than it answered. Read Joseph Smedley Death Cause.
The first half of Investigation Discovery’s “Nevertheless a Thriller: Indiana Unsolved” explores both Joseph Smedley’s mysterious passing and what led up to it; if that intrigues you too, don’t fret; we have you covered.
How Did Joseph Smedley Pass Away?
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Joseph Smedley II had an upbeat, cheerful outlook as a boy growing up in Indianapolis, Indiana. Unfortunately, his parents divorced when he was still young; since then he hasn’t spoken to either one of them.
On the contrary, Joseph maintained a close bond with his sister Vivienne Bernas and communicated regularly throughout 2015. By 2015, Joseph had just turned 20 and was studying biochemistry at Indiana College while living off campus with other members of their fraternity.
On September 28, 2015, Vivianne made the difficult decision to file for missing person status when she couldn’t contact him via phone or messaging. That night had been the last time she had spoken with her brother since that fateful morning.
On September 27, 2015 at approximately 11:15 p.m., Joseph’s roommates saw him for the last time. On October 2, 2015, a fisherman at Griffy Lake in Indiana discovered Joseph’s body floating in its waters. He had on all his garments and was carrying a pair of binoculars around his neck.
The coroner determined that Joseph committed suicide by drowning himself, and this is how he met his end. Despite criticism, Joseph was carrying a bag on his back that contained approximately 66 kilograms’ worth of pebbles – evidence enough for conviction.
Was Joseph Smedley Murdered in Any Way?
A week prior to Joseph Smedley’s disappearance, Vivianne received a call from his former landlord regarding an unpaid debt that needed clearing up by September 28th 2015. This all took place several days before Joseph went missing.
They spoke on September 27th night, with Joseph promising that they would send the check the following morning; however, that never materialized. She received another text message from Joseph’s cellphone at 4 AM on September 28th regarding this same matter.
The message reads, “Viv, I really care about you and have decided to leave the country. For your safety, don’t bother calling this number in an attempt to contact me; it won’t go through. Once settled abroad, all contact will be restored.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart Vivienne; I’ll always love and miss you.” Initially believing it to be a joke about something else entirely, Vivianne began becoming concerned when she couldn’t reach out the following day to the younger student.
On September 28, the family discovered Joseph hadn’t arrived at school as expected and his roommates confirmed seeing him before turning in the night before. Smedley’s handwriting was found on a note placed near Joseph’s bed which addressed him leaving the country.
Although Vivianne was relieved it wasn’t her brother responsible, even if their handwriting didn’t match, Joseph wasn’t fond of people using his last name even if theirs didn’t match either.
Unfortunately, Joseph’s body was discovered in Griffy Lake two months after being recovered – bringing an end to the search but raising even more questions.
Ultimately, it was determined that Joseph committed suicide, prompting further inquiries by the coroner. However, the post-mortem was conducted by a third-party forensic pathologist at the family’s request. The results have been truly shocking.
According to reports, Joseph had bleeding on his back. The physician speculated that an accident or an unknown cause might have contributed to Joseph’s demise.
Vivianne also mentioned that authorities refused to share information with a pathologist, making it harder for them to get the answers they needed.
Furthermore, Joseph’s family believed it highly unlikely that he attempted suicide by drowning himself in rocks.
On September 28, 2015, Joseph’s sister Vivianne reported that she couldn’t locate him. At 4:15 AM that morning she received an unusual text message from Joseph’s phone saying he liked her and was about to depart the country; additionally, it suggested not making any attempts to contact him until after he settled down in his new country.
At first Vivianne thought this may just have been a joke but when he didn’t respond to her attempts at contact she became concerned and called the authorities.
Investigators speaking to Joseph’s roommates, who also happen to be his fraternity brothers, confirmed that they last saw Joseph late that night of September 27th 2015.
As they told it, they went out to Griffy Lake with Joseph to try and view a lunar eclipse known as a “blood moon,” however due to cloud cover they couldn’t see much; consequently they returned home for another try the following night but were unsuccessful this time; consequently everyone left for their individual rooms well before midnight and that was the last time any of them saw Joseph until that fateful evening.
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