SEATTLE -- State Patrol detectives have opened a death investigation after KIRO Team 7 Investigators uncovered new facts surrounding a mysterious fatality at the Rainier School for the disabled.

The Department of Social and Health Services originally ruled the death, earlier this year, as “natural”.

In late August, our investigative team shot videotape of Rainier School workers punching, kicking, and shoving disabled patients. Three state employees were arrested and charged with assault because of our work.

Now, Investigative Reporter Chris Halsne digs deeper into other reported abuses inside Rainier.

Halsne says, “At that moment, while we were lying in the woods back there, videotaping mentally and physically challenged clients being abused, a longtime resident of the Rainier School for the disabled lay dying in a hospital bed with a broken neck.

We are about to show you why we are wondering if DSHS conducted a proper investigation into the death of Peter Bohnke.

Labeled "profoundly mentally retarded" clear back in 1947, Peter Bohnke literally grew up inside the halls of this institution. He loved TV Western movies and enjoyed ice cream. However, because of a propensity to injure himself, he needed constant supervision; one-on-one care.

Birth itself dealt Peter a tough life, but according to this veteran Rainier employee, staff routinely beating and abusing Peter made it even tougher.

Halsne: You witnessed some things done to Peter?

Source: “Getting slammed. Getting put in some moves. Rolled up in his mat. Suffocated with a pillow case. You name it. Cold showers. Downright inhumane things.”

We agreed to mask this person’s identity. He fears retaliation for telling Rainier's secrets and is concerned about being prosecuted for, until now, keeping quiet.

Source: “I'm ashamed. I should have reported a lot of that crap, but, like the majority of the people, you just go with the flow. There is a few staff out there that got way out of control with it.”

This insider also revealed to us, one particular caregiver was really hard on Peter Bohnke.

“I didn't like what he was doing. I mean, he actually got off on the guy. He'd roll him up in a pad or put him in the couch and jump up and down on him. Smack him. He f-ing suffocated him. That's what he did to him.”

Then, on August 6th, 2007, someone at Rainier called for an ambulance, saying Peter Bohnke was unconscious.

(9-1-1 TAPE Edited – For complete 9-1-1 call, click here)

“9-1-1. Hello? This is Rainier School. We have a code red emergency on house 10-30. One of the clients did a head dive into the floor.”

A medical report, obtained exclusively by KIRO Team 7 Investigators, shows Peter Bohkne's neck was broken that day; a C-4 fracture at the center of his skull. He died just three weeks later & DSHS closed his file with little fanfare. A Rainier School in-house physician even decided to list Peter's death as "natural" calling it respiratory failure, brought on by pneumonia.

Pierce County Medical Examiner, Eric Kiesel says, based on that, his office didn’t have jurisdiction.

“We did contact the physician in this particular case and found out that there was no trauma and we took the word of the physician that that was the case.”

Dr. Kiesel, was told the neck fracture was due to osteoporosis. Until we told him, he had no idea that Peter Bohnke had any kind of accident.

“This is the first I'm hearing of that. We had no information about that. If we had known about a fall, then that would take that out of the natural category.”

And when Dr. Keisel heard about our reports of staff abusing Peter, he said he'd look into reopening the case.

“Oh. There's no question. If we had that additional information at the time of the death, we would have looked closer at it. We may have found that indeed all the information we gathered supports that he - it really isn't from diving into the floor, it might be something else, but you never can tell until you ask the questions. if you never ask the questions, you'll never find the answers.”

Our insider doubts DSHS or police can convict anyone of either abusing or neglecting Peter. He says employees won't rat each other out - and mentally challenged clients aren't capable of telling anyone.

“You got to prove it. You better have three or four staff seeing that. You ain't going to get that out there. You might get one. The only way you're going to get somebody convicted out there is by those tapes (shot by KIRO-TV) right there. That's the only way.”

DSHS won't talk about any of this- except to confirm - the state patrol is now conducting a death investigation. How is that going? Detectives say it would have been easier, if DSHS had not ordered Peter Bohnke cremated before they started looking into the matter.

If you are a current of former Rainier School employee- and not comfortable talking to the Washington State Patrol or DSHS about abuses you’ve witnessed, you may contact KIRO Team 7 Investigators at 728-TIPS or e-mail us at investigativetips@kirotv.com

If you want to speak with state investigators directly, the Washington State Patrol has set up a special number at 360-596-4860, or try the DSHS abuse hotline at 1-866-363-4276.