Bend Police conclude ‘suspicious death’ investigation of woman lying injured in street, say no crime is suspected

(Update: Police say death investigation found no evidence of crime)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A suspicious death investigation begun by police after a Bend woman found lying injured in a street died at St. Charles Bend has determined that no crime is suspected, police said Thursday.

Jeri Lynn Davies, 51, was found lying on Northeast Second Street near DeKalb Avenue early Monday morning, with “multiple injuries,” police said. She was taken to the hospital, where she died early Tuesday.

Police have completed their investigation. “At this time, Bend Police believe there is no criminal wrongdoing associated with Davies’ death,” Communications Manager Sheila Miller said in an update Thursday afternoon.

The cause and manner of death is pending a final report from the state Medical Examiner’s Office, Miller added.

Officers responded around 6:35 a.m. Monday to reports of a woman lying in the street, about a half-block from The Lighthouse Navigation Center, a shelter operated by the Shepherd’s House.

The woman, later identified as Davies, had “multiple injuries,” Miller said Tuesday. She added that they "aren't identifying the injuries at this time."

Davies was taken to St. Charles Bend, where she died around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday.

“Bend police are investigating Davies’ death as suspicious,” Miller said at the time, adding that witnesses said the woman “frequented the area.”

Second Street between DeKalb and Emerson avenues was closed for several hours Tuesday morning but has since reopened, she added.

An autopsy was cpmdicted Wednesday.

Shepherd's House staff confirmed to NewsChannel 21 that Davies had been staying at the shelter. They said she'd been asked Sunday afternoon to leave for a day after a heated argument with another resident.

But Evan Hendrix, director of navigation at The Lighthouse, told us he hopes people won't "quickly jump to talk about why this happened, and I think would skip over the reality that Jeri was a person who was really well-connected in this community, was really well-known and loved, and had lots of care and support."

"And I think before we start trying to dissect why this happened, I think it would be really important for us to honor her life," Hendrix said.