No evidence of foul play was found in an autopsy performedSaturday on the body of Carole Pappas, who disappeared in 1982 andwhose body was found Friday in her submerged auto in a Wheaton pond.
Du Page County Coroner Richard Ballinger, who announced theresults, said the wife of former Cubs pitcher Milt Pappas waspositively identified through dental records.
"There was no indication to suggest anyone else was involved inher death," Ballinger said, adding, "I do not believe she was deadbefore entering the water."
Ballinger said the cause of death was not known. A toxicologyreport will not be available until four or five weeks, at which timea coroner's inquest will be held.
Lack of evidence of foul play bolstered the theory that herdeath was an accident - that she may have driven into the pondaccidentally.
Investigators said she was taking codeine, a pain-killingmedication, after undergoing gum surgery the day before shedisappeared and raised the possiblity that she might have becomedisoriented and driven into the pond.
However, her husband said she had taken no pain-killer pills orany other medication on the day she disappared because she insistedshe didn't need anything. Pills left on dresser
"In fact, her pills were on the night table near her dresserwhen she left to go shopping" on the day she vanished, he said. "Thatwas the last time I saw her alive."
"As far as I'm concerned, it will take a lot of convincing tomake me sure my wife was not the victim of foul play," said Pappas,48, whose wife was 42 when she disappeared on Sept. 11, 1982.
"There are too many strange aspects to my wife's case that areunanswered," he said. "This (supposedly) happened in broad daylight -why didn't somebody see her drive into that pond?"
Carole Pappas had left home that morning for a shopping trip tothe Stratford Square mall in west suburban Bloomingdale. The lastperson known to have seen her there was a saleswoman in the MarshallField's store.
Pappas also said police should investigate foul play because"we've had a lot of crimes with young women the victims in this andsurrounding areas," and because "the police investigator told me thatthe window on the driver's side of (the discovered) car was open."
Pappas said it was "eerie and scary" to realize that sinceCarole's disappearance he has driven by the pond "at least twice aday."
"In fact, I drove by there (Friday) afternoon to get a carton ofcigarettes," he added. "I saw the helicopter, I saw the commotion,but I had no idea what was going on. . . . It may sound strange, butI was unaware that there was a pond or a body of water there." Sharp curve noted
Asked if he had any idea how she might have driven into the15-foot-deep pond near 1590 S. President in the western suburb,Pappas acknowledged that "there's a sharp curve, but it's hard for meto believe she could have driven into that pond herself. I wonder ifsomeone else may have done it. Perhaps I always will."
Police Chief Carl Dobbs said the body was found in the car'spassenger section. But Pappas said police weren't sure whether thebody might have originally been in the driver's seat and shiftedposition. The driver's window was rolled down, and the car wasfilled with mud and water.
Concerning whether Carole, who had had bouts with depression andalcoholism years before, behaved unusually the day she disappeared,Pappas said, "Absolutely not. She was very excited, elated aboutseeing the honeymoon couple and our having dinner together."
Their son, Steven, then 21, and his new bride were to arrive atthe house that evening from their honeymoon for dinner.
With Pappas Friday night was his fiancee, Judi Bloom, 35, andtheir 2 1/2-year-old daughter, Alexandria, as well as his andCarole's daughter, Michelle, 25.
Pappas said that he and Carole are "still legally married. Imiss her very much."
For eight months after her disappearance, Pappas had kept hiswife's clothing hanging in her closet and her jewelry on her dresser.He finally moved her belongings to the basement in May, 1983, a monthbefore Bloom moved in with him.
Under Illinois law, a person must wait seven years from the datea spouse is reported missing before the spouse can be declared deadand remarriage can take place.
Described as a devoted baseball wife, Mrs. Pappas attended allof her husband's home games and wore a charm bracelet featuring hiscareer highlights.
During Pappas' road trips, she was left alone with her twochildren and he said she occasionally turned to alcohol. She joinedAlcoholics Anonymous in 1971.
"Carole had a drinking problem," Pappas said in 1983. "We hadups and downs in our marriage, but she never left."
Pappas, who now works for a building-products business, brokeinto the major leagues in 1957 with the Baltimore Orioles and retiredin 1974 after playing for the Cubs for four years.
One of the charms on Mrs. Pappas' bracelet commemorated a Sept.2, 1972, no-hitter her husband pitched for the Cubs against the SanDiego Padres.
The Pappas car was found as firemen from a nearby firehouse weresailing a remote-controlled three-foot boat, which became stuck onthe car's roof.
A work crew had begun draining the pond Thursday for aconstruction project, lowering the level of the pond enough Fridayfor the boat to become stuck.
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