Death at Jason Aldean Cleveland Concert Still a Mystery

Just over two months since the body of 22-year-old Cory Barron was found by a landfill worker in New Russia Township, OH after the young man had gone missing at Jason Aldean’s July 18th concert at Progressive Field in Cleveland, and friends and family still don’t have any answers as to the circumstances surrounding his death, and maybe never will. It is believed that while at the concert, Cory somehow gained access to a garbage chute at one of the top levels of the ballpark and fell five stories into a dumpster. The dumpster was then transported days later to the landfill where the body was discovered. But just how and why the young man ended up in the garbage chute remains a mystery.

Last week the long-awaited autopsy report from the Lorain County Coroner was released to the public. Dr. Stephen Evans found that the cause of death was multiple blunt force impact from the five story fall, and that Barron died immediately. But what he was unable to come up with was any conclusive evidence of why the fall occurred in the first place. According to the autopsy, there were no signs of foul play, and no signs that the fall wasn’t accidental. Dr. Evans says he is “less than happy” that the autopsy did not provide and more conclusive results.

“We’ll never know the circumstances of how he wound up in the trash chute,”  says the Lorain County Coroner. “I wish I had that for the family.”

The autopsy also concluded that there was alcohol in Cory Barron’s system, but because of the time that lapsed between when Cory died and the autopsy, it was not possible to conclude Barron’s blood alcohol level at the time of death. However according to police, the concertgoer was “extremely intoxicated” when he disappeared. The information about Cory Barron’s level of impairment came from police interviewing friends of the Bowling Green State University senior who were also attending the concert. Cory disappeared around 9:30 PM after visiting some friends in a different section of the concert from his assigned seat. He never returned, and in the following days a full search for the man turned up nothing.

According to Action News 19 in Cleveland, sources say that Cory may have also engaged in an argument with another man or group of men right before he disappeared. They also say the only way someone could have accessed the chute was to crawl into it. However a complete investigation by homicide detectives has turned up nothing, and police say they have obtained no new evidence in the case since the body was found. Unless something miraculous turns up, it is very likely the specifics of Cory Barron’s death will remain a mystery.

After the news of Cory Barron’s death was made public, Jason Aldean posted on Twitter, “My sincere condolences go out to Cory Barron’s family and friends. My heart is heavy for you all and you are in my thoughts and prayers.” Barron death came during a period this summer when the amount of arrests and hospitalizations at country concerts was making headlines and stirring debate about what impact country music’s new party atmosphere might be having on behavior.

Recently Jason Aldean spoke to Rolling Stone Country about the problems at country concerts, saying,“You want people to come out to your show to enjoy it and everybody to wake up the next day and talk about what a great time they had. You don’t want somebody to come to the show and never make it home. Unfortunately that kind of stuff is out of our hands. People are adults and are responsible for their own actions. You come to a show and plan on drinking, get a driver. Call a cab. That’s things that adults should just know. We can’t make people do that stuff.”