The U Police Department is investigating the theater department for fraud8212;an investigation started the same day the department’s accountant attempted suicide.
U Police began investigating the theater department in April for “a suspicious financial transaction,” said U Police Capt. Lynn Mitchell.
On April 15, U Police received a call at about 11 a.m. reporting that someone had stolen money from the department. The police report does not disclose who was responsible or how much was stolen. No comment was made as to whether the U administration has suspended or fired staff within the theater department in relation to the case.
U Police Chief Scott Folsom confirmed that U Police are investigating the department for financial misconduct but declined to comment further, since the investigation is ongoing.
U Police have not made any arrests, said Sgt. Arb Nordgran.
No one would comment on whether the theater department’s financial misconduct has anything to do with its then-accountant Jara Jane Wimmer, who was found after an attempted suicide in a casino hotel room the same day.
Three hours after the police received a call about financial misconduct, West Wendover Police responded to a disturbance call at a Wendover Nugget casino hotel room. The officers found Wimmer bleeding in the bathroom from self-inflicted wounds. They also found the body of her 31-year-old husband, Jason Mark Koerbler, on the bed. He had killed himself.
The couple had arrived at the hotel the previous evening.
The exact cause of Koerbler’s death has not been determined, said Sgt. David Wiskerchen of West Wendover Police. Why Wimmer would attempt suicide was also not determined, he said.
“She was not in a condition to provide any information,” Wiskerchen said. Elko Daily Free Press reports that according to West Wendover Police, the two made a pact to commit suicide after hardships they endured from the loss of their respective jobs.
Koerbler’s body was taken to Reno, Nev., for autopsy. Wimmer was treated at a local medical clinic and returned to Salt Lake City for further treatment. Doctors determined that her wounds were not life-threatening.
Wimmer is no longer listed in staff directories as an employee of the U. The theater department declined to comment about Wimmer’s employment status.
U spokeswoman Coralie Alder declined to comment until the investigation is concluded.
Gage Williams, chair of the theater department, referred comments to Raymond Tymas-Jones, dean of the Fine Arts College, who could not be reached.