A 75-year-old Indiana woman who died after a confrontation with Tim Hortons workers over her coffee order suffered a fatal worsening of congestive heart failure brought on during the altercation.
Anita Grayson’s death was attributed to an “acute exacerbation of congestive heart failure in the setting of physical altercation” following the May 13 incident at a Fort Wayne Tim Hortons, WANE 15 reported, citing the Allen County Coroner’s Office.
Authorities classified Grayson’s manner of death as “undetermined,” saying they could not conclusively determine whether it was natural, accidental or a homicide.
Allen County Coroner Dr. E. Jon Brandenberger said the term “acute exacerbation” was central to interpreting the finding.
“Acute exacerbation means that the heart failure suddenly got much worse,” Brandenberger told WANE 15.
“So, it’s like an acute flare-up of congestive heart failure. Then that will cause symptoms and possibly lead to death.”
Grayson collapsed after the dispute, during which she allegedly struck a 20-year-old shift manager after being asked to leave and tore out a portion of the employee’s hair during the struggle.
Police said at the time that Grayson became upset about her Tim Hortons drive-thru order, argued with a 17-year-old employee, and then got into a physical fight with the 20-year-old shift manager after she was told to exit the premises.
Investigators alleged Grayson punched the manager, and the two ended up wrestling on the floor. Police said Grayson pulled out a chunk of the manager’s hair before other employees separated them.
After the fight, Grayson sat at a table, made a phone call and later lay down on the floor. Employees checked on her and brought her water before she became unresponsive.
She was pronounced dead at a hospital after paramedics attempted to save her life.
Brandenberger said the physical struggle likely placed added stress on Grayson’s heart.
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“The symptoms of congestive heart failure get worse when there is adrenaline flowing in a physical altercation, and then a sudden flare-up of the heart failure, which then can lead to symptoms, or hospitalization, and even death,” he said.
The coroner said his office strongly considered ruling the death natural because of Grayson’s underlying heart condition, but said the altercation made that classification inappropriate.
“It’s not like she was sitting in her chair or walking through Kroger and died from congestive heart failure,” Brandenberger said. “That would be natural. But there was something about this, the altercation, that made it unnatural.”
Investigators also considered accident and homicide before ruling both out.
“There has been exhaustive investigation and review in the evidence of this case,” Brandenberger said.
“The video was reviewed multiple times by the homicide detectives, by my staff, by the prosecutor, and by the forensic pathologist. Bodycam videos were reviewed. We listened to and transcribed the four 911 calls and multiple meetings.”
He said the case did not meet the definition of homicide because Grayson died from congestive heart failure, and the final report found she had no “significant contributory injuries” from the fight.
Police later released surveillance footage of the confrontation without audio, saying it was intended to counter misinformation circulating on social media.
Grayson’s daughter, Tawnda Grayson, called for the arrest of the Tim Hortons employees involved in the fight, accusing them of being responsible for her mom’s death.
“If our police here would just do what we pay our taxes for them to do, which is protect and serve, we wouldn’t be here,” Tawnda told WANE 15 at a protest following the incident. “Y’all have to lock them up, y’all don’t understand. My mother is gone… I want justice for my mom.”
The family has also pushed back against the police account and hired civil rights attorney Ben Crump to pursue potential litigation.
No Tim Hortons employees have been charged.
The Allen County Prosecutor’s Office said it will review the coroner’s final autopsy report before deciding whether any charges are warranted.
