Corpus woman found dead following New Year's party
By BARRY HALVORSON bhalvorson@journal-spectator.com

The Wharton County Sheriff's Department is starting the new year by investigating the unattended death of a Corpus Christi woman found in a parked pickup following a New Year's Eve party.

The victim is identified as 46-year-old Alice Sandra Todd. She had been drinking while attending a party at a home in the 200 block of CR 231, according to a sheriff's department report.

Deputies received the call at 7:33 a.m. Tuesday when people checking on the woman found her unresponsive to their efforts to try and wake her up.

"She was there with a boyfriend," Sheriff's Lt. Daniel Marek said. "She initially wanted to go home that night but because both she and her boyfriend had been drinking, they decided to stay. She chose to rest in the pickup."

Marek said people checked on her a couple of times during the night but allowed her to sleep in the truck, where she was found the next morning.

Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace Jeanette Krenek conducted the inquest and requested an autopsy be done by the Galveston County Medical Examiner's Office.

"The preliminary report I received is they are going to have to do a toxicology test," Krenek said.

Marek said there was no evidence at the scene of foul play and that the case is still under investigation.

The woman's death is one of 11 cases filed for investigation with the sheriff's office in the first two days of the year, Sheriff's Lt. Daniel Marek said Thursday. In 2006, the department conducted 1,757 investigations, up 38 from the previous year.