Crime & Safety

Medical Examiner: Tarrytown's Karen Brown Dies of Natural Causes

Tarrytown's Karen Brown, 45, seemed to have died suddenly and from natural causes, the county Medical Examiner revealed on Friday.

Tarrytown Police said they responded to a 911 call on Wednesday, Oct. 9 , 9:27 a.m. for an unconscious woman at 191 South Broadway.

The Tarrytown Volunteer Ambulance Corps EMT reported that Brown was dead upon their arrival, making the official pronouncement at 9:33 a.m.

Find out what's happening in Tarrytown-Sleepy Hollowwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Detectives spent much of the day at the residence investigating but the cause of death remained unknown. Many news crews came out, with helicopters hovering, for an initial -- false -- report of an fatal explosion.

Tarrytown Police at 9:49 a.m. said they detected a gas odor in the home and notified Con Edison to shut the gas to the residence. The Tarrytown Fire Chief was asked to come assist Con Ed if necessary. Police Chief Scott Brown arrived as well. A Con Ed spokesperson later said they had found no unusual natural gas readings. 

Find out what's happening in Tarrytown-Sleepy Hollowwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The scene was cleared, and Brown's body removed by the Medical Examiner, around 2 p.m., police said.

A spokesperson at the County ME’s office said the autopsy results revealed that Brown died of a "spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage."

According to Strokecenter.org, this bursting of blood levels which causes bleeding in the brain -- a stroke -- can strike at any age and is often attributed to hypertension (high blood pressure). 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.