Wife's death ruled accidental

Homicide had been suspected

The death of the wife of a former Raleigh pastor was an accident, a medical examiner said Friday.

Rosemary Wynn was found in her kitchen in June. She died after she fell and struck her head, said Dr. Thomas B. Clark III, associate chief medical examiner.

Wynn, who lived in Hoke County near Raeford, had a history of prescription drug abuse and had been treated at least once for an accidental fall, according to autopsy results. Toxicology reports show she had ingested butalbital, a barbiturate found in painkillers.

Wynn's estranged husband, Samuel Wynn, was interviewed by investigators, who also executed a search warrant at his home. "There is also a history of domestic violence," the autopsy report said.

Samuel Wynn had been pastor at Holland's United Methodist Church on Ten-Ten Road.

At the time of his wife's death, he had recently been named superintendent for the Fayetteville District of the United Methodist Church, which includes about 66 churches in Cumberland, Hoke, Harnett and Sampson counties.

In June, Hoke County Sheriff Hubert Peterkin said Rosemary Wynn's death was being treated as a homicide. Authorities said at the time that she had moved to Hoke County several months previously, and that Samuel Wynn had visited the home several times.

Clark said in a statement that extensive investigation had turned up no evidence that there was anyone else at the scene when Wynn was injured, and that the medication in her body would make her prone to falling.

Two abrasions on the back of her head have the same spacing as the bricks on her floor, he said.

(Staff writer Mark Schultz contributed to this report.)