Woman found dead in dorm
PITTSBURGH — A Butler County woman was found dead in her dormitory room Sunday at Duquesne University, authorities said.
Cheyenne Warner, 22, a 2011 graduate of Slippery Rock High School, was pronounced dead at 5:26 p.m. in Brottier Hall on Forbes Avenue in Pittsburgh, according to the Allegheny County medical examiner's office.
Pittsburgh police are investigating, but a cause of death was not immediately known. An autopsy was planned for today or Tuesday, the medical examiner's office said.
Police investigators could not be reached for comment this morning.
The death is not suspicious, Warner's mother, Heidi Warner of Brady Township, told the Butler Eagle this morning.
Warner's death was reported in a campuswide e-mail sent Sunday by Douglas Frizzell, Duquesne University vice president of student life. A secretary for Frizzell referred all questions to the university's public relations officer.
Rose Ravasio, public relations manager at Duquesne, declined to comment and referred only to Frizzell's e-mail.
“It is with great sadness that I write to inform you about the death of student Cheyenne Warner,” the e-mail said. Cheyenne was a graduate student in the School of Education.
“Please join me in keeping her family and friends in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”
Warner in 2015 earned her bachelor's degree at Duquesne. She majored in science and mathematics, said her mother and father, Richard Warner.
She was working on her master's degree in education and planned to graduate in May.
She liked science all her life, Heidi Warner said.
According to her LinkedIn page, she wanted to be a high school physics teacher.
”I am passionate about science and nourishing a growing interest in science among kids, especially girls,” she wrote on the page. “My goal is to influence students to begin thinking critically about the world and to develop reasoning skills that will help them to see these real-life connections.”
She was particularly dedicated to getting girls psyched about science.
“I also hope that, as a teacher, I can help to lessen the disparity of women who feel comfortable and compelled to go into science,” her LinkedIn page said. “I am passionate about teaching kids and inspiring them to do more and better for themselves.”
Warner last year worked as a content development intern at BirdBrain Technologies, a Carnegie Mellon University outgrowth company. The company produces robotics to help educators make coding and computer science accessible.
“She put together robots there,” her mother said.
Warner also served as a Duquesne University intern in 2015. Previously, she was a physics tutor and laboratory teaching assistant at the university.
