In 1993, Glenn Smith , a police officer in Cobb County, Georgia, named his wife, Lynn Smith, as the beneficiary on his $150,000 life insurance policy. When Glenn Smith died soon after, his friends and family were astonished, but the medical examiner ruled that is was a natural death, related to an enlarged heart. Soon, Lynn moved in with Randy Hines. He, too, purchased an expensive policy. Lynn overspent on their credit cards, running up bills. Randy moved out and Lynn went into debt. He continued to see her, but soon, he experienced serious vomiting. When he died, the cause was listed as an irregular heartbeat, due to clogged arteries. Lynn received $36,000 – far less than she had expected because Randy had left his insurance policy lapse.

Glenn’s mother contacted Randy’s mother to compare notes. They brought their suspicions to Dr. Mark Koponen, deputy chief medical examiner of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Noticing calcium oxylate crystals in Randy’s kidneys, Koponen sent samples to the crime lab. Nothing was found.

1. Since the crime lab found nothing of concern, despite the fact that both healthy young men had died in oddly similar ways, what should the ME do next?