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Medical examiner: Woman's death an accident
By MAUREEN BYRNE
© St. Petersburg Times, SEMINOLE -- The Pinellas County Medical Examiner's Office has determined that Barbara Gotsis, who buried two elderly women in her back yard and continued to receive payments for their care, accidentally hanged herself while trying to put up a tire swing over the two graves. The cause of death of the two women, 91-year-old Mary L. Saric and 82-year-old Anne Rose Pechal, remains unknown, Pinellas County sheriff's spokesman Cal Dennie said Monday. Both women had been under the care of Gotsis at the time of their deaths. Sheriff's detectives found their bodies -- one encased in concrete -- in April. Authorities say Gotsis was continuing to collect payments from Saric's brother-in-law until just before Gotsis' own death in April. Gotsis took over pension and Social Security benefits for Pechal, a distant relative of Gotsis who had been living with her for 11 years. Sheriff's detectives also have determined that Gotsis' husband and daughter had no knowledge of the bizarre scam Gotsis had concocted, Dennie said. In other words, the case is closed, Dennie said. "Sheriff's detectives were unable to substantiate any theft charges against the husband or the daughter concerning the monies received by Barbara Gotsis after the deaths of the two elderly women," he said. Neither the husband nor the daughter could be reached for comment Monday. Deputies were called to Gotsis' house at 11488 Robert Drive on April 22 after Gotsis was found dead in the back yard. Her husband, Demosthenes Gotsis, and daughter, Nancy W. Crawley, had discovered her body about 7 p.m. It appeared that Gotsis, 60, had fallen 15 feet off a ladder while trying to hang a tire swing. Deputies were investigating the accidental death when St. Petersburg attorney Bill Foster called them. Foster said he represented the brother-in-law of an elderly woman who had been in Barbara Gotsis' care for three years. The brother-in-law had not seen the woman since April or May of last year and was concerned. So were Pechal's children, who for nearly a year were told by Gotsis when they called that their mother was unavailable. After finding Gotsis dead, sheriff's officials began looking for the missing elderly women. Gotsis' husband and daughter told detectives that Gotsis had been digging in the back yard. Investigators later found the two bodies. Foster said Monday that he believes Gotsis' death was "a suicide gone bad." Gotsis somehow became entangled in the rope and fell from a ladder, then hung upside down until the rope snapped, authorities said. "My speculation is, based on the facts, she intended to do harm to herself and an accident occurred," he said. Foster, who is a St. Petersburg City Council member, said he plans to seek remedy for his client from Gotsis' estate, which includes property in Pasco County.
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