LORAIN – The death of a Lorain man who collapsed after an assault outside a Lorain bar on Oct. 18 has been ruled a homicide.
Lorain County Coroner Paul Matus on Friday ruled the death of Eric Witcher, 32, a homicide, saying he died as a result of cardio pulmonary arrest.
Witcher was one of more than a dozen people involved in the early-morning fight outside of Luna Del Mar on East 28th Street, according to police.
Less than an hour after the fight, police and LifeCare were called to Witcher’s apartment on Marshall Avenue, where he was unresponsive. He was taken to Community Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Matus said some blows apparently landed on Witcher, and video obtained by police has been analyzed.
“The Detective Bureau has viewed the video and has potential leads on the identity of the individuals involved,” Matus said.
Earlier in the investigation, the coroner said Witcher had a blood-alcohol level of 0.184, more than twice the legal limit for driving, but that that did not kill him.
Witnesses in the area and coming out of the bar claimed not to know anything about a fight, police said, but there was a broken bottle, pool of blood, bar stool and pool cue outside the lounge.
Employees of Luna Del Mar said a fight started inside the bar and the crowd pushed its way outside.
Contact Cindy Leise at 329-7245 or cleise@chroniclet.com.

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