| | INDIANAPOLIS -- A car accident, not an alleged beating, led
to the deaths of the wife of Colts player Steve Muhammad and their
stillborn child, a coroner ruled.
Nichole Muhammad died Sunday about 7½ hours after giving birth.
The 30-year-old woman was five months' pregnant.
The Marion County prosecutor's office said Tuesday that no decision has
been made whether to pursue domestic battery charges against the
player. Steve Muhammad surrendered to police and is free on $30,000
bond. He is scheduled for a hearing Dec. 21.
"We have to look at what evidence we have independent of the
victim," said Beverly Phillips, a spokeswoman for prosecutor Scott
Newman. "Obviously, we don't have a victim, so we need to review
it to determine if we're going to move forward with the case. ...
There's a chance charges could be dropped and there's a chance that
we could continue with the prosecution."
The county coroner's office said Monday the alleged beating by
her husband Oct. 28 did not contribute to Nichole Muhammad's death. Frances Kelly,
the chief deputy coroner, said she had bruises on her chest and
lower abdomen, stemming from the accident.
"That is what caused her to go into premature labor," he said.
Kelly said the preliminary autopsy indicated the fetus died as a
result of the car accident. He said complications from the delivery
and excessive bleeding caused Mrs. Muhammad's death.
Kelly said the pattern of the woman's injuries were "consistent
with the steering wheel of the vehicle she was driving last
Thursday."
The one-vehicle accident was never reported. Mrs. Muhammad did
not seek medical attention until Friday when she went to Methodist
Hospital, where she was admitted after contacting her physician.
The Marion County sheriff's department is investigating the
accident. Mrs. Muhammad was not wearing a seat belt at the time of
the accident and an airbag in the vehicle did not work, officials
said.
"The accident that she had is more consistent with the kind of
injury that could produce premature labor and abortion," Dr. John
Pless of Indiana University said. "The injuries that she received
in that altercation (with her husband) are not necessarily the type
of injury that can induce the loss of pregnancy."
Mrs. Muhammad died 10 days after her husband was arrested and
charged with three counts of misdemeanor battery against her and
the couple's 6-year-old son.
The Colts refused to comment about Muhammad's legal situation.
Coach Jim Mora said the 26-year-old rookie defensive back is
popular with his teammates.
"I talked to him on the phone last night," Mora said. "He's
struggling."
A phone call by The Associated Press to Muhammad's agent was not
returned by late Monday.
Pless said the injuries from the alleged attack were to the
woman's back and her arm and were "no bigger than a dime and not
significant."
The woman told police Muhammad twisted her right wrist behind
her back, pushed her against a wall and threw her to the floor
after the couple argued about money. Then he struck their son
several times after the boy began hitting his father with a plastic baseball bat. The report added that the player disconnected
the phone when his wife tried to call 911.
According to the report, she complained of pain in her right
wrist and shoulder and the middle of her back, and there were
bruises on her back and light bruises on her left arm. She refused
treatment and there were no signs of bruises on their son, Eric.
Mora told the team about Mrs. Muhammad's death following the
Colts' 25-17 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. Mora said
Muhammad, listed as inactive for the game, spent Saturday night at
the hospital.
"Everybody was shocked," quarterback Peyton Manning said.
"The players didn't know anything about it before the game. We
were in there celebrating ... Coach Mora talked to the team and he
came back in and told us he had bad news. ... We immediately said a
prayer for Steve and his family during this tough time."
Manning said he wasn't aware of Muhammad's arrest.
"Certainly as a team we respect Steve's privacy and understand
what he's going through," Manning said Monday. "The most
important thing we feel right now is for he and his kids to deal
with this terrible tragedy and that his wife is in a better place
now. As far as the other things, we support Steve in whatever
happens."
Muhammad played at Fresno State and signed with the Colts in
February as a free agent after a season with the British Columbia
Lions in the Canadian Football League. He was the CFL defensive
player of the year.
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