Maryland's medical examiner has determined that the Feb. 27 death of an Ellicott City quadriplegic was a homicide. An investigation is continuing.

According to a statement this week from the Howard County police department, a final autopsy report from the medical examiner ruled that the death of Kevin Patrick Molony, 51, of Ellicott City, was a homicide by an overdose of oxycodone, a prescription painkiller.

Molony was paralyzed in a car accident in 2007 and was living in the 4000 block of Chariots Flight Way, under the care of family members and nurses.

Howard County police began investigating Molony's death after they received a call for emergency medical service at his residence early on Feb. 27. Paramedics arrived and pronounced him dead at 6:27 a.m.

According to the police statement, there were no signs of trauma to Molony's body and no obvious signs of foul play, but detectives began investigating the case as potentially suspicious in February.

An initial examination did not determine how Molony died. With additional testing and the ruling of Molony's death as a homicide, detectives are working to find what caused the oxycodone overdose, according to the police statement.