Toledo, Ohio—The community of East Toledo is in shock following the tragic and bizarre death of 62-year-old Sheila Decoster, who suffocated after she fell, head-first, into her city-issued recycling container.
Lucas County Deputy Coroner, Diane Barnett, claimed she has never seen a case as unfortunate and strange in her 20 year career.
The coroner stated that the position in which Sheila fell ultimately caused her death; Decoster was not able to breathe properly while trapped in the container.
The tragedy, which occurred Friday night at the Decoster residence, has sent shockwaves through the community. Robert Decoster, Shelia’s husband for over 30 years, says he returned from work around 5 p.m. and did not see Sheila Decoster’s legs sticking out from the bin. Both the recycling and trash containers were on the ground next to the couple’s raised porch.
After a few hours, Decoster finally noticed his wife’s lifeless legs hanging from the bin. At this point he ran over, shook her legs and freed her from the container. Unfortunately it was too late.
Robert says the couple keeps the containers in the place, facing away from the home, to make the transfer to the curb easier. He stated that Sheila had a bad back and recently had knee replacement surgery—both likely contributors to her unfortunate fall and death.
