Third-year College student Michelle Elizabeth Collier was pronounced dead at the scene when Charlottesville police arrived at her house on University Court shortly after 10 a.m. Nov. 18.
Collier's housemate made a call to the police after she discovered the body of the 20-year-old student on the floor of Collier's bedroom.
According to Ric Barrick, City of Charlottesville's interim director of communication, an initial autopsy found no signs of trauma, no evidence of assault or any indications of foul play.
"The preliminary autopsy, which was performed on the Saturday after they found her, was to determine whether there were any obvious signs of why she died," Barrick said.
He said he was not aware of any medical conditions Collier suffered from, and the police suspected she died of natural causes.
"Since it was only a preliminary autopsy, they are keeping all options open," he said. "At this point, her death still remains a mystery."
Currently the police are waiting for a toxicology report, which will not be available for another three or four weeks, Barrick said.
"It just takes this long in order to get a complete workup of the blood," he said.
Third-year Engineering student Ashley Davenport, a friend of Collier's, said she was uncertain as to the cause of Collier's death and was not aware of any drug abuse.
"She partied like a normal college student, but I wouldn't say anything more than that," Davenport said.
Barrick said because Collier died at such a young age, he did not consider her death to be an ordinary incident.
"But there is a difference between something not being ordinary and something being criminal, and police don't suspect anything criminal at this time," Barrick said.
Barrick said Collier was at the Biltmore, where she was employed, the night before her death, and he assumes she was working.
Collier transferred from Villanova University this year.
The funeral was held Wednesday at Saint John the Baptist Church in Hillsdale, N.J.
Because of Collier's interest in athletics, her parents set up a fund to grant a scholarship to a deserving student athlete in the Bergen County New Jersey area in memory of Collier and her many accomplishments as a student and athlete, according to a press release from the City of Charlottesville's Office of Communications.
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