New York police are investigating the mysterious death of a married mother-of-three after she she was found wedged in the doorway of a Chelsea apartment building following a night of partying and drug use with a television producer who once worked with documentarian Michael Moore.
Kiersten Cerveny, a 38-year-old dermatologist and assistant professor from Manhasset, Long Island, was found dead in the lobby of a W. 16th Street apartment building at around 9 a.m. on Sunday, according to the New York Daily News. The woman was fully clothed except for her panties, which were found in her purse, a police source told the paper.
According to police, Cerveny had been partying with friends late Saturday night, drinking and snorting cocaine at a downtown hotel room before heading to a Lower East Side bar around 2 a.m. Sunday. There, according to the Daily News, Cerveny met up with longtime friend Marc Johnson, an Emmy-nominated television producer who has worked on Michael Moore’s documentary series The Awful Truth and the upcoming HBO drama The Deuce.
The pair reportedly left the bar between 3:30 and 4 a.m. and took a taxi to Chelsea to see James (Pepsi) Holder, who police suspect is a drug dealer.
Roughly four hours later, Johnson and Holder were spotted dragging an unconscious Cerveny to the front door of the 16th Street apartment building, police told the paper. Johnson reportedly attempted to perform CPR on the woman, and stayed with her until EMS arrived at the scene. Both Holder and Johnson had left the scene by the time police arrived.
Johnson was reportedly questioned by police after the incident, but will not be charged with a crime.
“Based on the preliminary finds, we are not treating this as a homicide case,” an unnamed police source told the Daily News. “There is nothing at this point to suggest criminal activity. We have no indication, so far, of any force issue in her death.”
Police told the paper they believe Cerveny’s death is “consistent with cocaine use.”
Cerveny is reportedly survived by her husband, Andrew Cerveny, also a dermatologist, and their three children.
“They were a beautiful family,” neighbor Angelo Pappas told the paper. “She was very involved with the kids. It’s a shock.”
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