Coroner Clears Husband as New Details Emerge in Wife's Disappearance
Andrew Powell · Oct 9, 2026 · 2 min read
Nearly four months after Elena Katherine Moore was found dead following a six-day disappearance, authorities have determined that the 39-year-old South Carolina woman died from a heart condition, ruling out homicide as the cause of her death.
According to Fox News, Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher announced Friday that Moore died from complications of cardiac dysrhythmia with premature ventricular contractions, a condition involving an abnormal heart rhythm.
An autopsy revealed no evidence of physical trauma, broken bones, strangulation or sexual assault. Toxicology results showed alcohol in Moore’s system but no other substances.
“We never saw anything that would indicate homicide. Nothing,” Fisher said, explaining that investigators reviewed Moore’s movements and medical and mental health histories before reaching their conclusion.
Fisher also directly addressed questions surrounding Moore’s husband, Brannon Slice, confirming that he was never considered a suspect or person of interest in the investigation.
The coroner praised Slice for repeatedly attempting to get his wife help as she experienced a serious mental health crisis before disappearing.
“The only person that really tried to help this girl to get her help through the system is her husband,” Fisher said. “He reached out. He tried many times to get her help.”
Moore was discovered dead June 17, six days after being released from a mental health facility. Slice had reported her missing to Lexington police on June 12, according to an incident report previously obtained by Fox News Digital.
Fisher said Moore had been involuntarily committed June 5 after experiencing a severe psychiatric crisis. She remained at the facility until June 11, when staff arranged for her to leave in a taxi, despite Slice offering to pick her up.
The taxi took Moore to a CVS on Sunset Boulevard in Lexington, where she had previously worked. According to Fisher, Moore told a store manager that the driver was stalking her and intended to harm her.
The manager contacted police, but Moore had left before officers arrived. The driver also entered the store looking for her after she failed to return to the vehicle.
Slice later told investigators that Moore checked into a Planet Fitness at 6:38 p.m. Surveillance footage subsequently showed her walking through a Publix parking lot on Old Cherokee Road.
Investigators also examined years of medical records documenting Moore’s history of heart problems, including an irregular heartbeat dating back to age 14. More recent records noted cardiac arrhythmia, sinus tachycardia and hypertension.
While announcing the findings, Fisher questioned why Moore had been discharged from the facility despite her documented mental health crisis.
“This whole situation would be different if somebody at that mental health facility ... they all saw her medical, her mental crisis,” Fisher said. “But yet she was released.”