Investigator

Attempts to reach Byers on Monday were not successful.

Most death investigators in the state have little in the way of medical training and are not required to be certified. Most of their learning is on the job.

That job, Gwinnett County Chief Investigator Eddie Reeves said, is to be the on-scene eyes and ears for the county’s medical examiner — to determine if there are any initial signs of trauma or foul play, or the need for further investigation like an autopsy.

If none of the above applies, investigators may turn a body over to a funeral home or other entity to handle.

That’s what Byers did in Neal’s case — and a representative from Byrd and Flanigan Funeral Home was preparing to take Neal’s body from the home on Lexington Avenue when they noticed the holes in his neck.

Had that not happened, the subsequent autopsy that determined the holes to be stab wounds and the current homicide investigation may not have happened.

Reeves said investigators occasionally miss or misinterpret things while working at a scene. But he didn’t recall “a case on this level” ever having happened in his 17 years in Gwinnett.

He said Byers was “regretful of the decision that was made at the scene.”

Gwinnett County police, meanwhile, said Byers’ error has not jeopardized their homicide investigation. The agency is soliciting tips in the case at 770-513-5300 or 404-577-TIPS.

Smalls said she has no idea who would want to kill her brother, who left behind three adult children. Neal was buried Saturday. “He was loved,” Smalls said. “And we sent him away loved.”

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Ray Neal was found dead July 20 inside his home on Lexington Avenue near Lawrenceville. An investigator from the medical examiner’s office initially determined he had died of natural causes. Police are now investigating the death as a homicide.