| Columbia County Sheriff's Office |
David W. Harrison, Jr., SHERIFF James R. Sweet, UNDERSHERIFF
| Copyright ©2006 Columbia County Sheriff's Office, Hudson, NY 12534 |
BODY FOUND IN COPAKE IDENTIFIED
March 22, 2010
Copake, NY - Columbia County Sheriff David Harrison, Jr. reports that the body found Saturday, March 20th in a
field off of county route 7A in the Town of Copake, NY has been positively identified as 22 year old John Picarello
of Copake.
For several hours on Saturday Sheriff’s Investigator’s, Crime Scene Technicians and Coroner Dr. George Davis
examined and processed the area where Picarello was found. Sunday, March 21, 2010 an autopsy was
performed at St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany by Pathologist Jeffrey Hubbard, MD and attended by Sheriff’s
Investigator Mark Dunspaugh. The positive identification was made as a result of personal and other items
recovered at the scene, information provided by the State Police from their missing person case, interviews
conducted by Sheriff’s Investigators and the examination conducted at the autopsy. Mr. Picarello was reported
missing on December 1, 2009. His family has been notified.
At this time, it appears that Mr. Picarello’s death did not involve foul play and that he may have died as a result of
an intentional overdose of prescription medication. However, the investigation will remain open and an official
cause of death will not be determined until toxicology reports are returned to Dr. Hubbard.
Investigating were Dr. George Davis as well as Sheriff’s Captain David Bartlett, Sr. Investigator Kevin Skype,
Investigator Dunspaugh and Deputy Sheriff’s Jeffrey Hofstetter and Brian Molinski. Evidence Technicians, Deputy
Sheriff’s Todd Hyson, Donald Krapf and William Dunspaugh processed the scene.
March 22, 2010
Copake, NY - Columbia County Sheriff David Harrison, Jr. reports that the body found Saturday, March 20th in a
field off of county route 7A in the Town of Copake, NY has been positively identified as 22 year old John Picarello
of Copake.
For several hours on Saturday Sheriff’s Investigator’s, Crime Scene Technicians and Coroner Dr. George Davis
examined and processed the area where Picarello was found. Sunday, March 21, 2010 an autopsy was
performed at St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany by Pathologist Jeffrey Hubbard, MD and attended by Sheriff’s
Investigator Mark Dunspaugh. The positive identification was made as a result of personal and other items
recovered at the scene, information provided by the State Police from their missing person case, interviews
conducted by Sheriff’s Investigators and the examination conducted at the autopsy. Mr. Picarello was reported
missing on December 1, 2009. His family has been notified.
At this time, it appears that Mr. Picarello’s death did not involve foul play and that he may have died as a result of
an intentional overdose of prescription medication. However, the investigation will remain open and an official
cause of death will not be determined until toxicology reports are returned to Dr. Hubbard.
Investigating were Dr. George Davis as well as Sheriff’s Captain David Bartlett, Sr. Investigator Kevin Skype,
Investigator Dunspaugh and Deputy Sheriff’s Jeffrey Hofstetter and Brian Molinski. Evidence Technicians, Deputy
Sheriff’s Todd Hyson, Donald Krapf and William Dunspaugh processed the scene.