Police: 'No reason to believe' Lincoln man found dead last week died of natural causes

Andrey Stepanyuk died sometime between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Aug. 8 at his home near Northwest 56th and West Aurora streets, according to a police incident report made public last week.

Though authorities haven't determined how Stepanyuk died, Lincoln Police investigators indicated in court filings Friday that the Lincoln man's wife is under investigation.

Stepanyuk's wife, a 40-year-old woman, told police that Stepanyuk had vomited before she found him unresponsive that afternoon and had been drinking alcohol prior to his death, Lincoln Police Investigator Patrick Murphy said in a motion for emergency temporary custody of Stepanyuk's four children, filed in District Court last week.

Stepanyuk's wife called authorities to their home at 1:19 p.m. Aug. 7 before medical personnel declared her husband dead six minutes later.

But, Murphy wrote, Stepanyuk "appeared to be in very good health" and there was "no reason to believe" he died of natural causes. 

As police investigated Stepanyuk's death, his wife revoked consent to search the family's home without a warrant — after initially granting consent, Murphy said — and refused to let police interview their children.

The 40-year-old woman did let police download the contents of her cellphone, which included "multiple different searches that cause immediate concern for the safety of the children," Murphy alleged. He did not describe the nature of the searches.

Murphy also noted that Stepanyuk's wife "did not exhibit emotion or common signs of grief that are commonly observed with the death of a spouse."

Prosecutors filed a motion Thursday seeking to take Stepanyuk's children — ages 14, 9, 5 and 3 — into temporary state custody, noting that the children would be "at risk of harm" if returned to their mother's custody.

Judge Reggie Ryder granted the emergency order Friday, turning custody of the children over to a relative, according to juvenile court filings.

Stepanyuk's death remains under investigation. His wife has not been charged with a crime.