The autopsy report for a Los Alamos National Laboratory worker who was found dead in a remote national forest earlier this year determined she was fatally shot in the head — but could not conclude whether the wound was self-inflicted.
The “advanced state of decomposition” of Melissa Casias’ body, which was discovered almost a year after she was reported missing, limited the autopsy investigation, according to the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator.
The report, released this month, found the cause of her death was a gunshot wound to the head, but the manner of death was undetermined. The manner of death, when determined, can be ruled a homicide, suicide, accident or natural.
The incomplete autopsy findings further complicate the investigation into Casias’ disappearance, which has become part of an FBI investigation probing possible links in the deaths or disappearances of at least 10 federal scientists or staff members linked to highly sensitive, national security-related research.
Casias, 54, was employed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory — where the first atomic bomb was developed and where nuclear weapons work continues — when she disappeared. Her daughter reported her missing in June 2025 after she found most of her mother’s valuables — her two phones, wallet, identification and laptop — at her home in Taos, N.M., with Casias nowhere to be found.
Casias’ body was discovered in late May by a hiker in remote northern New Mexico. Her body was found near a handgun, authorities said.
The autopsy report said investigators used dental image comparisons to identify the body, which was severely decomposed. Due to the state of the body, investigators were limited in their “ability to estimate the range of fire, other possible injuries involving skin, soft tissues and organs, and underlying natural disease,” the report said.
Family members, who have called for a more thorough investigation into Casias’ disappearance and death, reiterated after the autopsy that they do not believe she would have killed herself.
“The condition and circumstances in which Melissa’s remains were ultimately discovered have only raised more questions for her family,” the family posted on a Facebook page dedicated to the search for Casias. “Melissa was a mother. A daughter. A sister. A woman who was deeply loved. Her family searched for her, fought for her, and refused to give up on her while she was missing. They will not give up on her now.”
The post Inconclusive autopsy adds to mystery of Los Alamos lab worker found dead in remote forest appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
