COLBERT, OK-After five months of waiting, a Colbert family finally learns their loved one's cause of death. Michael David Copeland was doing contract work in Iraq when he was found dead in his room in Baghdad.

Mike Copeland said they received the autopsy report from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner stating that his son, Michael David, died of acute cerebellar hemorrhage. But he said that cause left them with more questions than answers.

"Looking back at everything that's happened over the past five months, it's been a nightmare. And of course I'm angry and upset but I'm also relieved that we finally do know what happened."

Angela Copeland said she was shocked to find out her husband, Michael David died of acute cerebellar hemorrhage. His father, Mike, said the cause of the bleeding is unknown.

"His brain bled. They don't know why, they couldn't find any trauma, any signs of trauma possible because of the time it took to get him back home," he said.

Michael David had been working as a contractor in Iraq for just a week when he was found dead in his room.
He'd just spoken with his father the night before and everything seemed to be fine.

"What we've been told is it's not unheard of for someone his age and his condition to have it spontaneously, but it's usually that happens spontaneously with older folks. And with Michael David's age and condition, it's very uncommon," Mike said.

Copeland said his son saw a doctor while training for DynCorp, but didn't know why.

"We could never get any medical records. It was a company owned medical facility so we don't know why he would've gone to the doctor. Possibly he hurt himself some way at work, got exposed to something toxic, we don't know. We probably will never know," he said.

The State Department is investigating what may have caused Copeland's death, but so far the family still has questions.

"We're very happy to finally get some answers but I don't think we'll ever get the full story of what happened to him," said Copeland.

He said he is thankful for the support they received from the community.

"We're so very grateful to the Patriot Riders who helped us so much when he got home, both Texas and Oklahoma. And you all, for helping make people aware of what's happening."

Copeland sasaid ys the State Department is investigating what led to Michael David's death and are expecting to be done by the end of this year.
No one from the State Department was available for comment.