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Recently released autopsy reports reveal that a husband-and-wife team responsible for sharing the city’s stories over the decades died of natural causes.
The bodies of Beverly, 81, and Kenneth Daughtry, 83, were found March 14 in their home in the Cedar Hills development south of Elgin, according to sheriff’s reports.
The couple were former employees of the Elgin Courier and were well known in the area for their civic and professional accomplishments, relatives and friends said.
According to a forensic examination, the couple both died of dehydration, with complications stemming from dementia on the part of Beverly Daughtry and cardiovascular disease and potential falls suffered by Kenneth Daughtry, according to the Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office. “Based on the external injuries, which were primarily right-sided, it is possible [Kenneth Daughtry] suffered a fall from which he could not get up and ultimately died of dehydration after a prolonged interval without access to water,” according to the report by Dr. Lauren A. Edelman, a forensic pathologist. “The decedent was markedly dehydrated at the time of death. It is possible that [Beverly] was unable to appropriately care for herself in the absence of the assistance of her husband.”
Beverly Daughtry had a diagnosis of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease and was not thought to be competent to handle dispensing her own medication, according to the postmortem examination.
Edelman’s report noted Kenneth Daughtry “was the full-time caregiver of his wife.”
While Beverly Daughtry was found in the bathroom, her husband was located in the bedroom.
“He watched over her, he took her where she wanted to go, anything. They cared for each other, and the neighborhood,” a neighbor said when the bodies were first discovered.
The husband had several contusions and abrasions but no injuries that would have caused the death, leading the deputy chief medical examiner to note a potential incapacitating fall, in addition to “underlying heart disease, which likely contributed to death.”
The Elgin natives were respected, admired and beloved by many, according to those close to them.
Beverly Daughtry worked for the Courier for more than 50 years, where she retired as editor and publisher. Her husband also contributed as a photojournalist, with both earning awards from the Texas Press Association and Texas Gulf Coast Press Association.
Kenneth Daughtry was a former Elgin mayor, Elgin Independent School District board member and enjoyed a successful career as a bank teller, where he became something of a local hero after chasing down a bank robber, according to family members.
He received recognition from the Elgin Chamber of Commerce in 1984 with the Outstanding Citizen Award, followed by his wife in 2001. She was chosen as Most Worthy Citizen of the Year.
According to investigators, the pair were found about two weeks after they were last known alive.
The autopsies were commissioned under the authority of Bastrop County Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Zachary Carter.
