Medical Examiner Rules Death an Overdose, not a Homicide

A homeless encampment on the grass strip behind the Bank of America parking lot off S Bailey Street is where a man was found dead in a tent on March 19, 2026. City workers cleared the encampment last week. (Photo by Steve Lannen)

(EDITOR'S NOTE: This article contains facts that could be considered offensive or triggering for some readers.)

There was an open suspected homicide case in Georgetown. Then, there wasn't.

On March 19, Seattle Police responded to a report of a body in a tent encampment between the Bank of America parking lot, 1112 S. Bailey St, and the on-ramp to Interstate 5. There, they found a man with apparent fatal injuries, according to a police department blotter blog post. A police spokesperson told the Seattle Times the man had "wounds consistent with possible homicide." The spokesperson said a man told police he went looking for his friend whom he had not seen for a few weeks and found his body in the tent, according to the Times.

The area was cordoned off with police tape while detectives looked for any evidence and began to investigate what happened. Seattle Fire Department first responders pronounced the man dead.

And the local media went to work chasing the breaking news.

Within the hour, one news outlet's headline said the deceased man was "believed to be murdered." A TV station went further reporting that police ruled the death as a homicide. (Note: Police don't make rulings on manner or cause of death. Medical examiners and coroners do that.)

Another TV news site reported largely what the police put in their press release, noting there was no suspect information and no arrests had been made. Surely, they would all update the viewers and readers about the scary situation in Georgetown as soon as they could.

But then ... nothing. There were newer and better stories of Puget Sound murder and mayhem (with sports and weather!) to tell.

A week later, another Seattle Police spokesperson, Det. Eric Muñoz, told the Gazette in an email the investigation was no longer a homicide investigation. Investigators determined the cause of death was not related to murder.

The King County Medical Examiner's Office said the deceased man, Brent Martinez, 36, died of "acute combined drug intoxication including fentanyl and methamphetamine." In other words, a drug overdose.

But what about the injuries that made police think it was a homicide? Investigators determined significant injuries to the man's back and head were caused by animals, likely rats, the detective wrote.

As of when this blog was published, none of the news outlets above, nor the police blog, have updated their stories or followed up with the new information.

It was a sad ending for Mr. Martinez who was already in a bad situation. As a homeless person, he no doubt struggled. He likely faced threats every day from weather, illness and other people also doing whatever they thought they had to do to make it another day.

But in Seattle, being homeless and dying from an addiction just isn't considered news for local media.