Lewis and Carol Catron found dead of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning

Jul. 7—Lewis and Carol Catron, well-known members of the community and the brother and sister-in-law to the late Sam Catron, were pronounced dead Friday afternoon of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning.

The couple's passing was confirmed by Pulaski County Coroner Clyde Strunk, who said their bodies have been sent to Frankfort for an autopsy.

The couple were found inside their home around 4 p.m.

Strunk said he could not pinpoint an exact time of death, only that they had died "more than six hours and less than 24 hours" before they were found.

He noted that someone had spoken with them around 9:30 p.m. Thursday evening.

It appears that they left a vehicle running and unattended in the residence's garage, he said.

Strunk called Lewis Catron a good man and expressed sorrow for the couple's deaths.

"That family has gone through more tragedy than most will ever see," he added.

Lewis Catron may be best known as the brother of Pulaski County Sheriff Sam Catron and the son of Somerset Police Chief Harold Lewis Catron, both of whom were killed due to their law enforcement careers.

Sheriff Catron was assassinated on April 13, 2002 as he was leaving a political fish fry held at the Shopville-Stab Fire Department. The event was a fundraiser to assist him in his campaign for re-election for sheriff.

He was shot by a man hired by his political opponent, Jeff Morris.

Morris, shooter Danny Shelley and conspirator Kenneth White all received prison sentences. Morris and Shelley are serving sentences of life with the possibility of parole, while White died in prison in 2018.

Lewis Catron's father, Police Chief Catron, died in 1964 from injuries sustained from an attack in 1957 in which he was shot.

Lewis Catron has attended memorial events honoring his father and brother over the years, including the dedication of a bridge in Shopville near the place where his brother was killed.

That bridge dedication took place in June 2022, where Lewis Catron recalled that as a younger man his brother told him he wanted to follow in their father's footsteps as a law enforcement officer.

"Sam was doing what Sam wanted to do. He wanted to serve his people and do the best job he possibly could. That was his whole life," Lewis Catron said.

Carla Slavey can be reached at cslavey@somerset-kentucky.com