Dead Waitress Autopsy: Brooke Baures’ Head Caught In Dumbwaiter Autopsy Reveals

The cause of death of a waitress who was found in a Wisconsin dumbwaiter has been revealed following the release of gruesome autopsy results.

Gymnast and Winona State University student Brooke Baures was killed in a freak accident on December 1. The 21-year-old young woman was working at a banquet on the second floor of WingDam Saloon and Grill when tragedy struck.

At first, police was baffled by what they found in the 3-by-3 dumbwaiter — an elevator used to help carry kitchen supplies between floors. However, as reported by the Inquisitr at the time, the sole police officer in the town of 859, Fountain City Police Chief Jason Mork, said he did not believe that Baures was the victim of foul play.

Now an autopsy, released by Mork, has confirmed those beliefs. The waitress apparently died when her head was caught in the elevator, the report indicates.

According to witnesses reports, the only person who would have been able to press the control to activate the dumbwaiter was Baures herself. The autopsy concludes that no foul play was involved in the tragic death of the young waitress.

The autopsy also found “extensive destruction” of the brainstem and left side of the cerebellum, and concluded she died of severe head trauma.

(Warning: graphic details ahead.)

Police believe her head was almost entirely inside the cab of the elevator when it descended to the first floor, according to a report in the Associated Press.

The dead waitress’ autopsy report adds police believes Baures’ head “was located almost entirely inside the cab of the elevator canted slightly to her right as the cab descended. When the roof of the cab passed the sill of the second floor access, Brooke sustained fatal crushing injuries to her brainstem and cerebellum.”

Anyone operating the dumbwaiter had only about five seconds before the interior of the cab disappeared below the sill, police said. The elevator has been permanently removed since the tragic death of the waitress. Additionally, federal and state investigators launched inquiries into the case.

Those who knew Brooke Baures describe her as someone “magnetic” and who could light up a room when she walked in. Her gymnastics coach, Beckie Rolbiecki, said, “She was a sparkplug of a competitor and an ambitious, dedicated teammate.”

A fund has been established to help the family of the dead waitress. Even though the autopsy reveals the cause of Brooke Baures’ death, it is still unclear why her head was caught in the elevator at all.

[Image via You Caring]