Conspiracy theories surround Ken Lay's death

(7/06/06 - KTRK/ASPEN, CO) (KTRK) -- Ken Lay's family says the Enron founder will be cremated and buried in Colorado, and not in Houston, where he rose to the top of the business world, only to be eventually convicted of conspiracy and fraud.

The lead investigator in Aspen has told Eyewitness News some new details about Lay's death. Early Wednesday morning Lay was in bed. He woke up in pain. His wife Linda was the only person with him in their rental home. She called 911.

Lay was unconscious when paramedics arrived. They tried to revive him along the 10 mile ride from the ranch to Aspen Valley Hospital. He never regained consciousness. The medical examiner called it a heart attack.

Mesa County Coroner Rob Kurtzman said, "There was no evidence of foul play."

But that hasn't stopped the conspiracy theorists in the thin air of Aspen from spinning the death of a man about to go to prison.

"I thought he took some kind of medicine to make himself have a heart attack," admitted tourist Laura Spoovies.

"There's always some conspiracy thinking behind these things," admitted tourist Peter Eckert. "We even discussed it last night with friends."

Tourist Michael Slomak said, "You can be cynical about it all you want. I don't care whether it was the stress, really. He was not an American hero. He was a despicable individual."

There are others, though, who see Lay's death for what it likely was.

"I feel like the stress of it put him under," said tourist Darren Kozelsky.

Tourist Chris Leveritch agreed, "It was probably because of all the enormous stress that he must have been under."

There is, of course, the man leading the investigation into Lay's death, who has the most significant take of all.

Joe DiSalvo with the Pitkin County Sherrif's office said, "I think no matter what happens in a case like this, there's going to be a conspiracy theory out there. But I'm comfortable that there was no conspiracy and this was just a natural death that is unfortunate."

The lead investigator in the case says he has pretty much wrapped up the investigation into Lay's death. They are just awaiting the final toxicology results which could take three to four weeks.
(Copyright © 2006, KTRK-TV)

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