Worst Roommate Ever S2E2 tells the tragic tale of Anita Cowen’s death at the hands of her monstrous roommate, but it leaves the cause of death ambiguous. She was brutally attacked and suffered numerous blunt force injuries but was found in a pool. Unfortunately, the show left viewers wondering if Anita Cowen’s death was caused by drowning, the assault by her roommate, or a combination of the two.
What caused Anita Cowen’s death in Worst Roommate Ever S2E2?
When the police arrived at Anita Cowen’s home, they found her floating in her pool. She was unresponsive, and medical personnel were unable to revive her. After hearing this, viewers may assume that despite being beaten, her actual cause of death was drowning. However, this isn’t the case.
A publicly available appeal filed by Scott Pettigrew on March 25, 2021, included details from Cowen’s postmortem examination. It reads:
“The pathologist observed several contusions or bruises, and scrapes or scratches on her face, head, chest, shoulders, back, arms, hands, and fingers caused by blunt force trauma. Cowen had large patches on her head where the hair was missing or sparse. An internal examination revealed hemorrhaging or bleeding on the underside of her scalp and to the surface of the brain caused by blunt force trauma. Cowen also had hemorrhaging on the inside of her eyelids and to the internal neck tissues that were consistent with asphyxia from strangulation. An examination of the heart revealed Cowen had approximately 90 percent blockage in her right coronary artery. She also had two broken ribs.
The pathologist opined Cowen’s cause of death was blunt force trauma with submersion in water and cardiovascular disease as a possible contributing factor. She could not exclude asphyxia or cardiac arrest from Cowen’s mildly enlarged heart and arterial blockage as causes of death. Although there was no water in Cowen’s lungs, the pathologist could not rule out drowning as the cause of death either.”
California v. Pettigrew, CA Court of Appeals, Docket No. E074122
So, the most likely cause of Anita Cowen’s death was blunt force trauma. The absence of water in her lungs didn’t rule out drowning but made it very unlikely.
