CDC epidemiologist Timothy Cunningham's body was found near the Chattahoochee River in Atlanta in April after he had been missing since February.
Months later, some of the questions surrounding Cunningham's mysterious death have finally been answered, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Two days after Cunningham's body was found, Atlanta Police Major Michael O'Connor struggled to address the questions surrounding Cunningham's death, as it was known he could swim. “We may never be able to tell you how he got into the river,” O'Connor said.
Further, O'Connor acknowledged theories circulating online that Cunningham's work with the government may have played a role in his death.
“We’re very aware of the conspiracy theories,” O’Connor said during a February news conference.
Cunningham resigned from a special CDC team in early February via email.
“I thought he sounded exasperated,” Commander Richard Dunville told police. “In fact, I would have encouraged him to stay on through June, when he would have received a service award, but he sounded too ready to leave.”
At work, Cunningham had hoped for a promotion he didn't receive.
In addition to challenges in his professional life, Cunningham reportedly struggled with his personal life.
Cunningham's best friend, Nell Reed, told police the CDC employee suffered a "breakdown" in 2010 as he struggled with his sexuality.
“She said that Tim talked to her about his feelings toward men and that he didn’t consider himself gay,” the case file stated.
Reed said Cunningham confided in her about reconnecting with a former Morehouse classmate.
“She said the person had been coming to Tim’s house and that Tim began to question whether the person was playing with his feelings,” police reported. The former classmate told investigators Cunningham came onto him and that he'd blocked his number two weeks before Cunningham's disappearance.
Additionally, Cunningham's parents told police Cunningham suffered from a chronic disease for which he took medication. That illness, though, wasn't a factor in his death, however, according to Dr. Jan Gorniak, Fulton County's medical examiner.
Following a review of toxicology reports, Gorniak confirmed Cunningham's death was a suicide caused by drowning.