Death of teen determined to be from natural causes

According to the Teton County Coroner, the teen who was found dead Tuesday died from natural causes.

During a press conference Thursday,the coroner announced the findings of the autopsy performed on Kayden Tapia. The autopsy found that the cause of death to be a genetic heart condition, specifically hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which is comparable to congestive heart failure. The condition is often found in athletes and presents with progressive weakness and shortness of breath. The autopsy was performed at St. John’s Medical Center

At this time, the death of the teen is no longer being investigated as suspicious but the Teton Count Sheriff’s office is continuing to investigate the events that led up to the death of Tapia.

Detectives know that Mr. Tapia left the Star Valley area at approximately 7:35 A.M on the day of his death and are working to identify what events took place up until his discovery at approximately 9:29 A.M., when the original 911 call was received by the sheriff’s office.

The four male individuals who were initially seen leaving the area when Mr. Tapia was discovered are all juveniles. The juveniles have stated that they were not with, nor did they see, Mr. Tapia the morning of his death though they intended on meeting with him and were seen leaving the area in which Mr. Tapia was discovered. Sheriff’s detectives are working to corroborate their statements and other witnesses to establish a sequence of events surrounding this incident.