ACCIDENTAL DEATH Anesthesiologist Christopher Robert, MD, died of a blunt force head injury sustained in an apparent accidental fall, authorities said. Toxicology reports showed acute alcohol intoxication.

Anesthesiologist Christopher Robert, MD, whose body was found along a downtown Minneapolis freeway more than a month ago, apparently fell to his death in what authorities are calling an accident with alcohol playing a role.

Toxicology reports showed acute alcohol intoxication, says Carolyn Marinan, the public relations officer for Hennepin County.

Dr. Robert, 50, the chief of anesthesiology at Hennepin County Medical Center, died of a blunt force head injury sustained in an apparent fall while he was walking home from a workplace Christmas party on Dec. 5, according to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner. The manner of death is accident.

Dr. Robert's wife, Kerry Ace, MD, an emergency room physician, says her husband was walking about a half-mile to their second home, a downtown condo, from a holiday celebration for the hospital's anesthesiology department. The next thing she learned was that he was found dead on the shoulder of the interstate.

Minneapolis Police are investigating, but have yet to piece together what led to Dr. Robert's "unwitnessed" death. "The peace of mind that closure would bring would be phenomenal. We can tell you where the body is located, but we can't tell you how it got there," says police spokesman Sgt. John Elder. "What do the injuries tell us? That there was trauma to the head that was consistent with a fall. There was no indication that there was a previous assault or criminal behavior."

Dr. Robert joined Hennepin County Medical Center in 2003 and was appointed chief of anesthesiology in 2011.

Dan O'Connor