Neronha Refuses to Comment on Request to Reopen Case That RI Woman Believes Was Homicide

Neronha Refuses to Comment on Request to Reopen Case That RI Woman Believes Was Homicide

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha’s office is refusing comment on a Rhode Island woman’s request to reopen an inquiry into her mother’s death. 

As GoLocal reported on May 6, “RI Woman Believes Mother’s Death Is Unsolved Homicide - Says New Info Should Reopen Case.”

Lauren Lee Malloy told GoLocal she is simply seeking justice for her mother Lori Lee “Sled Dog” Malloy, who died in 1993 — under conditions that the East Providence Police Department had deemed “suspicious.” 

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

Her mother's body had been found naked, with clumps of hair around her hands and feet, with water running in the bathroom sink, and the refrigerator in the kitchen unplugged. 

Malloy recently obtained an expert pathologist’s opinion that the original autopsy declaring her death natural was incorrect and the case should be reopened.

The Department of Health told GoLocal they deferred comment to Neronha’s office — who has refused multiple requests for comment. 

 

Conflicting Opinions 

A homicide investigation into Lori Lee Malloy’s death was closed by East Providence Police on December 28, 1993, after the autopsy deemed her passing was “natural.” 

In 2020, Lauren Malloy said she was approached by a woman saying she was a friend of her mother’s — and that her mother had a “secret” boyfriend who was visiting her at her apartment the weekend she died. Malloy said East Providence Police told her later that year that they would look into the case and try and locate original records. 

In March 2021, Malloy said she spoke with acting Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Alexander Chirkov, who refuted the original autopsy reports, and said the entire case needs to be redone and state involvement is necessary.

According to Malloy, that month, Steve Dambruch in the Attorney General’s office assigned the case to Assistant Attorney General Scott Erickson. 

Malloy says she spoke with Erickson, who advised her he would follow up with Chirkov and the East Providence Police Department. According to Malloy, in September 2021, Erickson told her Chirkov saw no sign of foul play, and that there was no basis to reopen the case. 

October 2021, Malloy said she met again with Chirkov, urging him that police need to reinvestigate the case and said modern forensic techniques could confirm final cause of death. In March 2022, Malloy reached out to independent pathologist, Dr. Zhongxue Hua, who reviewed the original 1993 autopsy and refuted the findings.  

Since then, Malloy said she has had no communication from the Attorney General’s office 

“Dr. Chirkov was the one who wanted me to get the AG's Office involved in the first place,” said Malloy. “He told me that my family needed state involvement, which is part of why it was so confusing the AG's Office said Dr. Chirkov didn't see signs of foul play warranting the case be reopened.”

Malloy noted she hasn’t heard from Erickson since last September and her calls to Neronha have not been returned. 

 

More Medical Examiner Office Scrutiny 

Malloy says that there were potentially significant issues in the Rhode Island medical examiner’s office at the time of her mother’s autopsy. 

In 1993, Dr. F. John Krolikowski conducted the autopsy while then-chief medical examiner Dr. Richard Evans was on leave. 

As GoLocal reported, Krowlikowski later came under fire in Massachusetts where he was sanctioned for the incorrect analysis of multiple cases. 

Evans — who also left Rhode Island for Massachusetts, where he served as Chief Medical Examiner — also came under scrutiny. 

When then-Massachusetts Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Mark A. Flomenbaum was fired in 2007, Evans — his predecessor — was noted. 

“The chief medical examiner’s office has been plagued by scandals since the mid-1990s,” reported the Boston Herald. “Flomenbaum…was appointed by Romney to initiate reforms after the disastrous tenure of his predecessor, Dr. Richard J. Evans.”

In Rhode Island, the state announced in 1999 that it would review over 200 autopsy cases between May 1993 and December 1993 — specifically those under Krolikowski. 

The date range just missed Malloy’s mother’s passing in March. 

Malloy pointed to another Krolikowski case, however, that was reopened following the original autopsy. 

With all of the new information coming to light, Malloy says she is bolstered at the prospect of having her mother’s case reopened. 

"In the nearly two years since learning my mom didn’t die of some random heart disease, this is the most hopeful I’ve felt about her case," Malloy told GoLocal.