What Autopsy Results Revealed About Death Of Patriots Fan

The ongoing investigation into the death of a Patriots fan saw an important shoe drop Wednesday morning.

Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey revealed preliminary autopsy results for Dale Mooney, a 53-year-old Newmarket, N.H., native who died following an altercation during Sunday’s game in New England. The revelations potentially eliminate the possibility of Mooney dying as a direct result of punches allegedly thrown by a Miami Dolphins fan, but further testing is planned.

Per Mooney, medical examiners identified a “medical issue” as a possible contributor to Mooney’s death, but nothing that suggested a “traumatic injury” caused by punches.

“Our investigation has included numerous law enforcement interviews and the examination of multiple angles of video capturing the scuffle prior to Mr. Mooney’s collapse during the Sunday night game at Gillette Stadium,” Mooney said, via The Boston Globe. “Preliminary autopsy results did not suggest traumatic injury, but did identify a medical issue. Cause and manner of death remain undetermined pending further testing.”

As of early Wednesday afternoon, no charges had been filed as part of the investigation into Mooney’s death. The identity of the Dolphins fan who allegedly struck Mooney also wasn’t made public.

Multiple witnesses who claimed to have watched the altercation involving Mooney spoke to local news outlets and described the violent scene. Some spoke only of punches thrown by a man in a Dolphins jersey, but at least one described a “mutual combat” — they didn’t specify verbal or physical — before the eventual altercation that immediately preceded Mooney’s collapse.

From a witness who spoke to WFXT: “It looked like people grabbing and pulling at each other at first at some point (and) the guy in the Dolphins jersey punched the victim twice in the face and that’s when the victim fell into his seat unconsciousness.”

From a witness who spoke to the Globe: “In a nutshell, it was a basic argument back and forth. (Mooney) went over to Section 311 and he basically engaged in mutual combat with another fan. A lot of people started trying to pull them apart. … It looked like somebody was in the middle of them and then a man in the Dolphins jersey reached over and he connected with two punches to the victim’s head. It wasn’t something crazy or out of the ordinary until, 30 seconds later, the guy wasn’t getting up. … The way he slumped over, a lot of people knew he wasn’t okay.”

Mooney’s wife, Lisa, told WFXT that her husband, a season ticket holder of 30 years, was being “taunted” by several Dolphins fans during the game before the incident occurred. She didn’t attend the game and was relaying testimonies.

We’ll continue to offer more updates on this story as they become available. The Patriots as of Wednesday afternoon hadn’t offered a statement on the situation.