JOYCE — Autopsies will be performed on a Joyce couple who died Wednesday to determine what caused their deaths.
Charles Lorme, 60, died while apparently trying to save his wife, Geraldine Lorme, 59, by performing CPR — or cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Clallam County sheriff’s deputies and Fire District No. 4 emergency medical technicians found Charles slumped over Geraldine after he had phoned 9-1-1 to say his wife was having a heart attack.
Neither had a pulse when help arrived no more than eight minutes after the phone call.
Neither could be revived.
Autopsies will be performed, though no foul play is suspected, said Mark Nichols, Clallam County’s chief deputy prosecutor.
“Our job as coroner,” he said, referring to the Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, “is to ascertain cause of death.
“While we don’t suspect foul play, we don’t definitively know the cause of death.”
Nichols said the autopsies could be completed this week but that the report could take a couple of weeks.
Although the cause of death is unknown, authorities said it’s possible both suffered heart attacks.
Fire District Chief Alex Baker said emergency medical technicians spent more than 30 minutes trying to revive the couple, who lived on state Highway 112 west of Port Angeles.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
