State Will Investigate Death Of Med School Lecturer's Wife

The death of a Harvard Medical School lecturer's wife is under investigation by state and local authorities.

Dr. Jonathan O. Cole '46, a lecturer on psychiatry and the chief of psychopharmacology at McLean Hospital, a Harvard teaching hospital in Belmont, was supervising his wife's medical care when she died last July, according to a report in Wednesday's Boston Herald.

Kathleen C. Cole weighed only 75 pounds when she died age of 68. Her death certificate listed her cause of death as "pending investigation" and authorities said the investigation continues.

"The cause and manner of Mrs. Cole's death is a matter of active investigation by Brookline Police, the state's chief medical examiner and state police attached to this office," Norfolk County Assistant District Attorney John Kivlan told the Herald.

Investigators from the Brookline Police Department and medical examiner's office could not be reached yesterday evening.

Cambridge resident Jonathan P. Cole, the couple's son, told the Herald that his mother never sought medical care outside the family, relying on her husband and her other son, Dr. Joshua P. Cole of Boston.

Dr. Stanton Kessler, the state's acting chief medical examiner said Mrs. Cole's probable cause of death was known, but refused to comment on whether low body weight was a factor and whether any drugs were found in her system.

Jonathan P. Cole told the Herald he believed his mother died of "a stroke or emphysema."

Kathleen Cole's weight of 75 pounds was significantly below the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' recommendation of 119 to 152 pounds for a woman of her height.

The Herald reported that "a source familiar with the case" said malnutrition was a factor in the death, and that investigators have raised questions about whether the care she received from her husband was sufficient.

The elder Dr. Cole's experience is in psychopharmacology, which involves treating mental illness with prescription drugs.

Cole's career includes six years as superintendent of Boston State Hospital and 10 years as director of psychopharmacology research at the National Institutes of mental Health. He came to McLean in 1974.

Last year, after the Medical School implemented a new conflict of interest policy, questions were raised about Coles' relationship with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. Coles had been involved with research on drugs manufactured by Bristol-Myers drugs in addition to being a major stockholder in the pharmaceutical company.

This article was written by the Crimson staff.