In other news at concerning Berry College
Police explain fetuses linked to coach
ROME, Ga. -- Police believe the remains of two fetuses found in a storage unit were self-aborted by the wife of a former Indiana women's basketball coach.
That information, released in a police statement today, was the latest in the bizarre case that started last week when authorities in Bay County, Fla., received a tip that Sarah Jo Warner Izard had told friends there that she kept the remains of two fetuses in a storage shed in Rome.
Izard is the wife of the late coach Jim Izard, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Feb. 28.
"Sarah Jo Izard told the third party that she had been pregnant two times, one time in 2001 and one time in 2002," Rome police said in the statement. "Both of these times she had allegedly self-aborted these pregnancies and she had saved the remains of the fetuses."
Authorities are trying to determine if any laws were broken. No charges have been filed, and police are unwilling to speculate on what laws, if any, may have been violated for storing the fetuses.
The Izards lived in Rome for two years when Jim Izard coached the Berry College women's basketball team. He resigned in January 2005 and moved to Florida, where he committed suicide last month.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab in Atlanta is performing DNA analysis and other tests on the fetuses, which is expected to last at least another two weeks. Once the lab's final reports are completed, police will consult with the Floyd County District Attorney's office to determine whether any criminal charges will be brought against Sarah Izard.
The investigation started last week when Rome police were informed by the Bay County sheriff's office that Sarah Izard had told friends that she stored the remains in a green plastic container inside a storage unit leased to the late Jim Izard. On March 9, police searched the storage unit and found the container, removing two smaller containers from inside it -- each holding a human fetus in some sort of liquid, Floyd County Coroner Barry Henderson said.
Henderson said that the state crime lab's initial finding was that one fetus was a male and another was "too disintegrated to determine gender."
Bay County Sheriff's spokeswoman Ruth Sasser said her office has interviewed Sarah Izard about the fetuses, but Sasser has refused to comment on what was said.
There are no listed telephone numbers for Sarah Izard or any variations of her name or her husband's name in the Rosemary Beach, Fla., area, which is their last known address and where Jim Izard died.
"We know where she's at and will be progressing in the investigation," Sasser said about Sarah Izard.
Indiana University paid Jim Izard to settle a discrimination lawsuit he filed against the school four years ago. The 57-year-old coached at Indiana from 1989 until he was fired in 2000 after a 10-18 season. He eventually went on to coach at Berry, but was not coaching at the time of his death.
His lawsuit against Indiana alleged the school violated federal law when it fired him as coach after 12 years and hired Kathi Bennett in March 2000. He also claimed the university violated equal-pay law by giving Bennett a five-year contract that paid her $110,000 her first year. He had worked on a year-to-year basis, earning $76,775 his final year.
ROME, Ga. -- Police believe the remains of two fetuses found in a storage unit were self-aborted by the wife of a former Indiana women's basketball coach.
That information, released in a police statement today, was the latest in the bizarre case that started last week when authorities in Bay County, Fla., received a tip that Sarah Jo Warner Izard had told friends there that she kept the remains of two fetuses in a storage shed in Rome.
Izard is the wife of the late coach Jim Izard, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Feb. 28.
"Sarah Jo Izard told the third party that she had been pregnant two times, one time in 2001 and one time in 2002," Rome police said in the statement. "Both of these times she had allegedly self-aborted these pregnancies and she had saved the remains of the fetuses."
Authorities are trying to determine if any laws were broken. No charges have been filed, and police are unwilling to speculate on what laws, if any, may have been violated for storing the fetuses.
The Izards lived in Rome for two years when Jim Izard coached the Berry College women's basketball team. He resigned in January 2005 and moved to Florida, where he committed suicide last month.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab in Atlanta is performing DNA analysis and other tests on the fetuses, which is expected to last at least another two weeks. Once the lab's final reports are completed, police will consult with the Floyd County District Attorney's office to determine whether any criminal charges will be brought against Sarah Izard.
The investigation started last week when Rome police were informed by the Bay County sheriff's office that Sarah Izard had told friends that she stored the remains in a green plastic container inside a storage unit leased to the late Jim Izard. On March 9, police searched the storage unit and found the container, removing two smaller containers from inside it -- each holding a human fetus in some sort of liquid, Floyd County Coroner Barry Henderson said.
Henderson said that the state crime lab's initial finding was that one fetus was a male and another was "too disintegrated to determine gender."
Bay County Sheriff's spokeswoman Ruth Sasser said her office has interviewed Sarah Izard about the fetuses, but Sasser has refused to comment on what was said.
There are no listed telephone numbers for Sarah Izard or any variations of her name or her husband's name in the Rosemary Beach, Fla., area, which is their last known address and where Jim Izard died.
"We know where she's at and will be progressing in the investigation," Sasser said about Sarah Izard.
Indiana University paid Jim Izard to settle a discrimination lawsuit he filed against the school four years ago. The 57-year-old coached at Indiana from 1989 until he was fired in 2000 after a 10-18 season. He eventually went on to coach at Berry, but was not coaching at the time of his death.
His lawsuit against Indiana alleged the school violated federal law when it fired him as coach after 12 years and hired Kathi Bennett in March 2000. He also claimed the university violated equal-pay law by giving Bennett a five-year contract that paid her $110,000 her first year. He had worked on a year-to-year basis, earning $76,775 his final year.