Scott Javins' death ruled accident during ISU break

Officials put an end to a five-year investigation during a press conference Dec. 17 when they announced they had determined accidental drowning to be the cause of ISU student Scott Javins' death.

Javins had been missing since May 2002 until his car was recovered from the Wabash River Oct. 12.

During the press conference, which is available online at www.tribstar.com, Vigo County coroner Roland Kohr said the investigation concluded that on the night of his death, Javins drove his car from a party he had been attending to the Fairbanks Park boat ramp, where he parked his car in fifth gear. His manual transmission Honda Civic then rolled into the river, floated for approximately 380 feet and then sunk, causing Javins' drowning.

Using a test car of the same model as Javins', police experimented to see if the car could roll down the boat ramp while in the fifth gear. During the experiment, which was shown on video during the press conference, the test car rolled within 90 seconds.

Authorities ruled out the possibility of foul play because there was no evidence of trauma to the body such as bullet or stab wounds, Kohr said.

Robbery was eliminated as a motive because the car was found intact, not stripped, and Javins still had his wallet with a credit card and remnants of cash. Also, there was only a 36-minute time frame from the time of Javins' phone conversation with his mother at 1:57 a.m. and when his watch stopped at 2:33 a.m., the time it was submerged in water. Factoring in that Javins also left the party and drove to Fairbanks Park in that time period, Kohr said there would not have been sufficient time for a robbery or any foul play to have occurred.

"Drowning is a diagnosis of exclusion," Kohr said. "It is based on finding a body in water and having no other options to explain it." Authorities also ruled out the possibility of suicide because there was no evidence in Javins' social history to suggest he might have been depressed. Also, the ignition of the car was found in the off position, which suggests that the car was not driven into the water.

Witnesses from the party told police that Javins was intoxicated when he left, which could explain why Javins' didn't notice or was unable to escape in time when the car began to roll, Kohr said.

Also, Javins' bones were found in a way that indicates he might have been lying across the two front seats at the time of the accident, Kohr said.

Police removed the car from the river after receiving a tip from an informant. However the informant also gave information about the case, which turned out to be false, such as claiming that Javins had been shot and his body disposed of in a wood chipper. When police interrogated the informant he admitted that he had lied about his claims. "The fact that this turned out to be where the car was located seems to be more dumb luck than anything else," Kohr said. In May 2002 the Wabash River, which has a normal depth of 20 feet was just starting to recede from its flood state, but in October when the car was found the water level was only seven feet. The area had been previously searched using sonar, but nothing was found at the time, Kohr said.

Police said at the press conference that over the five years Javins was missing they received hundreds of tips, all of which turned out to be false leads.

As to why Javins chose to drive to Fairbanks Park and park on the boat ramp, it is open to speculation. Authorities theorize he may have stopped at the park to sober up and sleep off his intoxication before going home to his parents.

"For whatever reason, he made a detour at the park," Kohr said. "What that would be we're not sure. We'll probably never know."