Sergeant Sean Drenth Death: Court Orders DNA Samples From Indicted Officers

Court orders for DNA samples of more than two dozen Phoenix police officers were served on Monday in regards to the death of Phoenix Sergeant Sean Drenth. The officers ordered to turn over their DNA are the same cops believed to be involved in a fraud scheme that resulted in the indictment of three current officers and one former.

Drenth, Phoenix police Chief Jack Harris confirmed last week, was also on the list of officers involved in the scheme (which you can read all about by clicking here) and probably would have been indicted, as well, had he not been killed.

Recently, there has been speculation that Drenth’s death was somehow tied to the investigation that led up to the indictment of the four officers — and what would have likely been an indictment of his own.

Fueling the speculation is the fact that Harris also claimed last week that Drenth knew he, and the other officers, were being investigated. However, Harris also said he knew of no connection between the investigation and Drenth’s death.

Today, though, Harris told ABC 15 the DNA samples were ordered because they help “eliminate the people that were there … to ensure that none of them were involved in the case.”

Drenth’s body was found shot to death near the State Capitol — next to his police cruiser — on October 18. He was on-duty at the time, but was out of contact with his precinct for about 45 minutes before the shooting.

The Phoenix P.D. has been fairly tight-lipped about the investigation, and the medical examiner hasn’t said whether it was a murder or a suicide.

Skeptics suggest he may have known he was under investigation and killed himself. There’s also the theory that he was aiding in the investigation of the other officers and was killed by one of them.

We’ll have to see what, if anything, the DNA reveals, but stay tuned — this story’s gradually gone from kinda crazy straight-up nuts.