The former New York journalist who was found dead in her home in the Dominican Republic told friends that she planned to end her life, according to reports.
Sarah Kershaw, 49, was found with a plastic bag tied over her head and pill bottles beside her, a prosecutor for the province of Puerto Plata told the New York Times.
Kershaw worked for both The Times and Newsday, and was working as a freelance journalist after moving to the Caribbean island with her husband William Norton in 2014.
The writer had been suffering from chronic pain due to occipital neuralgia, a neurological condition, according to the Times.
Kershaw was known as an inquisitive reporter with an eye for the unusual, family and colleagues said.
“We called it the ‘Kershaw Inquisition,'” her sister, Amy Kershaw told The Times. “When she met new people or encountered a new topic, she explored both with enthusiasm, genuine curiosity and zeal.”
FORMER NEW YORK TIMES REPORTER FOUND DEAD IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
An initial police statement said Kershaw appeared to have died from asphyxiation, but prosecutors said a cause of death had not been established.
An autopsy was expected to take several days, authorities said.
“We are waiting for the final forensic report to determine the real cause of the death,” prosecutor Osvaldo Bonilla told the Associated Press.
