[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
UPDATE 9/19 6:30 P.M. PST: The coroner’s report is in. We’re sad to report that Ron Sexton died “from the combined toxic effects of fentanyl and ethyl alcohol, which means he overdosed” — with the blood alcohol in his system at time of death registering as .202. With this news, it’s also being reported there will no longer be a criminal investigation into his death.
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The family of comedian Ron Sexton is in mourning after news of his shocking death. But it’s still unclear what happened — and it’s only getting more confusing!
Police in Harrison, Ohio are investigating after the 52-year-old was found dead in a Holiday Inn Express room last week. Ron had a long career as a stand-up comic but was most well-known for character Donnie Baker on the nationally-syndicated Bob and Tom Show.
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Now, as cops continue to investigate the unexpected death, they are finding unsettling questions at every turn.
For one, the comedian’s wife Tracey Sexton is listed as his next of kin in police docs. That makes sense; the two of them have been married for 29 years, per The US Sun, and share four children. But his alleged mistress is also named in the police report as an “OIV.” That’s cop shorthand for “offender/involved/victim.” So, it would seem Sexton’s mistress — who has a long, checkered history with the comedian — was there when he died. Oof.
This sad situation started last Friday when the manager of the Holiday Inn Express in Harrison, Ohio — a small town outside Cincinnati and right on the Indiana border — called 911. The manager had been asked by Sexton’s family to do a wellness check on the comedian after he failed to show up for an event that day.
According to the US Sun, the hotel manager called at 2:20 p.m. local time, telling dispatchers:
“Their family member called. I guess he was supposed to attend something and he didn’t show up for it, so they wanted us to go check it on him in his room. Housekeeping went in and said that he wasn’t alive.”
The dispatcher responded:
“I do have to ask, and I know you’re not in there, but did you want to attempt CPR?”
The Sun reported the hotel manager was “distressed” and “clearly nervous and upset” over the matter, responding:
“I can attempt CPR. I’m entering the room now. … Yeah, he’s blue. And he’s not wearing any clothes.”
He was naked and blue? Yeesh. The dispatcher replied:
“If you want, you can step outside if you’d like. I’ll just put CPR is being refused.”
We honestly can’t even imagine walking into a situation like that. So sad on so many levels.
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But beyond Sexton’s body being discovered, questions over how the comedian got there (and in that state) are even more uncertain….
For one, a law enforcement spokesperson in Harrison told the Sun on Thursday that Sexton’s autopsy found “no significant external trauma.” That seemingly eliminates blunt force or another physical assault as the cause of his death. And while official autopsy results and toxicology read-outs are “still pending,” the spokesperson noted:
“They believe this was a natural death as opposed to an overdose, but they are waiting for the toxicology to come back to determine if there was anything significant in his system that could have been at potentially lethal levels, versus a cardiac event or something to that effect.”
More info clearly needs to come back for the coroner to make a final determination. But then what’s the deal with the comedian’s alleged mistress being listed as an “OIV” on the police report? There are other witnesses listed on the report — as the Sun notes, these are presumably the housekeepers and hotel employees. So why the “OIV” distinction for the mistress?
Cops may be so uncertain because Sexton and his mistress have been victims of a very violent recent history. Last December, according to multiple media reports, the husband of the comedian’s purported lover allegedly fired NINE gunshots into Sexton’s rental car after a performance in Indiana!!
Per news outlet WTHR, Sexton had just finished up a December 11 show in the rural town of Portland — which is about 90 miles north of Indianapolis — when he called his alleged mistress and asked to meet her at a bar. The woman, who is only identified in police docs as Mrs. Berkemeier, reportedly met Sexton at the Northside Bar and Grill in Indianapolis.
Less than an hour into their meeting, per Fox 59 News, the duo drove separately to a parking garage where the woman was going to drop off her car. But during that short drive, Sexton’s car was overtaken by another, and the driver of that vehicle rolled down the window and began opening fire. In all, nine shots struck the comedian’s rental car. Amazingly, the stand-up was not struck by any bullets — and was only slightly injured due to shattered glass from the assault.
When cops arrived moments later, Sexton told them he knew the assailant by name, identifying the alleged shooter as Paul Berkemeier. As you probably guessed, Paul is the man married to the comedian’s alleged mistress. During his interaction with police after that shooting, Sexton called the woman his “girlfriend,” while admitting they were each married to someone else and had been having an affair.
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Weeks later, in early January of this year, police tracked down Paul and arrested him on charges of attempted murder and unlawful possession of a firearm. He had been forbidden from possessing guns after an unrelated 2017 felony conviction on theft charges. Per the Sun, Paul was released on bond not long after his arrest and is currently free while awaiting trial.
And that’s not even the first violent act in this situation!! More than a year before the shooting, in October of 2021, Sexton filed a separate police report against Paul after the man allegedly “attacked [Ron] and threatened his family,” per WTHR. The alleged mistress “corroborated” Sexton’s story when cops asked, telling police her husband “became angry” when he learned she’d seen the comedian earlier that year. Yeesh…
So, it’s understandable why cops in Harrison are now “encouraging anyone who believes they have information surrounding Sexton’s death to contact them,” as the Sun reports. It seems like detectives there are looking to be sure they have the full story into the comedian’s unexpected passing.
As for Sexton’s family, Tracey released a statement to the Sun earlier this week. In it, the grieving widow referenced the star’s longtime radio character and said:
“Though his talent was unparalleled, Ron was so much more than Donnie Baker. He was a loving husband, father, son, friend, and coach. We know he’s at peace and are proud to know he will continue to make people around the world laugh forever. We appreciate all of the love and support.”
What a tragic situation. And one that clearly needs to be investigated further in light of all this background.
Regardless, we send our condolences to Tracey and the couple’s four children: Eric, Abigail, Alex, and Aliah. So many loved ones faced with this lack of resolution. Terrible.
[Image via YouTube]
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