Coroner Says Michigan Woman Found In Suitcase Was Asphyxiated

CROWN POINT, Ind. (STMW) -- A Michigan woman whose body was found earlier this week in a suitcase tossed in a Hobart, Ind., pond died from asphyxiation, the Lake County Coroner's office said Saturday.

The coroner's office said that Dawn Marie Fital, 45, died in her apartment in the 5800 block of Plum Hollow Drive in Ypsilanti, Mich.

Police discovered Fital's body Thursday morning in a pond behind the Hobart Toys R Us. According to reports, they discovered she was missing Tuesday night after Merrillville police arrested her boyfriend, Greg Noack, 44, after he was seen acting strangely near a local bank.

They became worried about Fital after speaking with him and searched her Michigan apartment Wednesday. Police said they finally discovered her body after getting more information from Noack, who has been charged in Michigan with murder. He waived Friday extradition to the state.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2010. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)