By Janice Morse
The Cincinnati Enquirer

HAMILTON - The Butler County coroner has approved a family's request to exhume a Monroe woman's body because of lingering questions about the cause of her death.

Kristen Michelle Felts, 23, died Oct. 30, 2001, at her home in the 400 block of Mainring Street. The cause of her death was ruled natural, brought about by an irregular heartbeat and a microscopic examination showed disease in her heart muscle, a coroner's report says.

But additional information surfaced after she died, said Dr. Richard P. Burkhardt, Butler County coroner. Attempts to reach Felts' relatives were unsuccessful Wednesday, but Burkhardt said, "some of the family is concerned that there could have been a cause that was overlooked in the original autopsy." Although some of Felts' family members suspect foul play, Burkhardt said that is unlikely, based on his review of photos and other evidence. Still, he said, "This is just to make sure, so the family can have closure."

He thinks that a prescription drug Felts was using to improve fertility may have been a factor in her death. The drug, he said, was not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for that use.

Felts was buried in Greenwood Cemetery, and her remains are expected to be exhumed sometime before the end of the year, Burkhardt said.

E-mail jmorse@enquirer.com