Autopsy results pending on man beaten in 2003

4/30/2005

Results of an autopsy yesterday on a South Toledo man who died nearly two years after he was brutally beaten for a pack of cigarettes are pending, said Dr. Mark Akers, Seneca County coroner.

David Ziss, 50, died Thursday at St. Catherine's Care Center of Fostoria, where he was moved less than a month after the July 15, 2003, attack in the 900 block of Colburn Street. The autopsy was performed at the Lucas County coroner's office.

Two Toledoans charged in the attack later pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery with the understanding they could face more serious charges if Mr. Ziss died. Steven J. Colston, 23, is serving a nine-year sentence.

Dwayne A. Smith, 16, who was certified to stand trial as an adult, also received a nine-year sentence. Two days later, he tried to hang himself with a bedsheet in the county jail. He died nine days later.