8/1/13 - Police reports that were recently made public detail the days before the death of a former record-setting NFL quarterback from Livingston County but fail to shed any real light into what actually caused it. 30-year-old Cullen Finnerty died in May while on a holiday weekend trip in northern Michigan. Police reports released to The Associated Press showed Finnerty had a number of alcoholic drinks on the day he disappeared and that he told relatives in two final phone calls he believed he was being followed. Finnerty's wife told detectives it wasn't the first time her husband had a "paranoid" episode and about a year and a half earlier, he feared the FBI was following him and drove from Detroit to Grand Rapids. The 116 pages do not reveal however what might have killed the record-setting Grand Valley State quarterback. Authorities found his body in the woods within a mile of where he disappeared. Preliminary autopsy results failed to reveal a formal cause of death for the 2001 Brighton High School graduate. It found he had a âslightly enlarged heart and slightly cloudy lungsâ but âno trauma to the body at allâ and police are still awaiting toxicology results from the Kent County medical examinerâs office. Researchers at Boston University have also been studying a section of Finnertyâs brain to see if there are signs of repetitive head trauma related to prior football injuries. Meanwhile, friends and family have organized a golf outing in his memory on August 24th at The Jackal in Brighton. Spots are still available and all proceeds will directly benefit Finnertyâs wife and their two children. (JM)
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