EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — According to the autopsy report, the medical examiner believes 25-year-old Claire Alyss Terry was knocked loose from the top of a moving vehicle and then run over.
As KFOX14/CBS4 reported on Tuesday, Terry’s family has been scrambling for answers after her death was reported by authorities as an “unattended death,” then as a murder.
Now, KFOX14/CBS4 has obtained the autopsy report, which lists her cause of death as “blunt trauma,” detailing that Terry suffered multiple fractures, including several in her skull and others on her ribs and pelvic region.
The autopsy report also lists Terry’s “manner of death” as a homicide, meaning that her death was caused by the actions of another person.
RELATED: Family searches for answers as El Paso police investigates ‘unattended death’ as a murder
Claire Terry (Credit: Terry’s Family)
Seeking answers
It’s been over two months now since Terry’s death and her family said they are looking to learn the truth while honoring her memory.
“My Claire was everything. Claire was a beautiful person in and out,” her father, Lester Terry, said.
Family members described Claire as kind, outgoing, and deeply devoted to the people around her.
“She was my superstar,” Lester Terry said. “Claire loved deeply.”
For Terry’s family, they say justice begins with learning the truth.
“So what justice looks like to me is the truth coming forward,” Lester Terry said. “Let’s talk about this openly… and make sure that who did wrong is held accountable.”
However, it appears questions will remain unanswered as the case moves forward.
The El Paso Police Department said they cannot release any information regarding the case, declining to say if Terry was intentionally hit by a vehicle, what evidence led detectives to classify her death as a murder, if an arrest had been made, or if a suspect had even been identified.
What EPPD did say is that it had presented the case to the El Paso County District Attorney’s Office.
RELATED: Pedestrian seriously injured after crash at Paisano near Doniphan
The night of Terry’s death
According to a police report, officers responded to the area of Paisano and Doniphan Drive (near Sunland Park) at around 10 p.m. on May 6 following a vehicle-pedestrian incident.
At the time, first responders had only said that a person had suffered serious injuries.
A crash closes all lanes on Paisano East at Doniphan. Credit: KFOX14/ CBS4
About Terry
An obituary for Terry lists her as being born in Kansas City but grew up in Dublin, Georgia, before moving to El Paso.
In El Paso, she attended Bassett Middle School, then Chapin High School, and then pursued higher education at the University of Texas at El Paso, where she became a UTEP Diamond, serving on the color guard team for the Marching Miners, while pursuing a bachelor’s degree in education.
Terry also served as a substitute teacher for the El Paso Independent School District.
Claire Terry (Credit: KFOX14/CBS4)
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