Family, police at odds in woman’s death

Published 6:19 am Wednesday, January 27, 2016

By Shavonne Walker

shavonne.walker@salisburypost.com

Relatives of a local woman say she died after being injured in a home invasion and assault earlier this month, but police say they have not confirmed foul play.

Investigators are awaiting results from the N.C. Medical Examiner’s Office to determine what may have led to Sylvia Mary Seebeck’s death.

What is known, authorities say, is that Seebeck, 77, was injured at her South Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue apartment. Officers were called there Jan. 9 to investigate a possible assault, said Police Capt. Shelia Lingle.

When officers arrived, Seebeck was inside her home and had a cut to the back of her head. She had fallen and hit her head on a vent located on the side of a wall there, Lingle said.

Seebeck spoke with officers at the scene and was later taken to the hospital for her injury. Lingle said the woman stayed at the hospital for a couple of days before being moved to a nursing facility, where she died Friday.

An autopsy was performed Monday, and detectives continue to investigate.

In an obituary placed in today’s Salisbury Post, relatives wrote that she died “after succumbing to injuries sustained in a home assault” on Jan. 9.

The obituary goes on to say that her family “not only experiences bereavement, but frustration” as they gather for her funeral, and goes on to ask the community for “help in sharing any information that may lead to the apprehension of the person who was involved in her attack.”