EDWARDSVILLE — Three recent deaths have been ruled homicides and one ruled an accidental overdose in Madison County.

The Madison County coroner's office announced the conclusion of four investigations Wednesday:

* The death of Barry Cloninger, 51, of Edwardsville, was ruled a homicide. Cloninger had been shot by police at his home.

Sgt. Bill Marconi of the Madison County Sheriff's Department was called to Cloninger's home early Jan. 5. Cloninger appeared with a shotgun, and was ordered to drop it. According to police, he raised the shotgun while walking toward Marconi, who then fired several shots.

Cloninger dropped the gun and ran away. His body was found behind his home, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. He was found to have cocaine and alcohol in his system at the time of his death.

An investigation by the Illinois State Police determined a few weeks ago that Marconi was justified in shooting Cloninger.

* The death of Charles Weiss, 54, of Granite City, was ruled a homicide. Weiss was killed by a gunshot wound to the chest and pronounced dead at Gateway Regional Medical Center on Nov. 8.

Three teenagers have been charged with first-degree murder in Weiss' death, which is believed to have been an attempted armed robbery. The case was investigated by the Major Case Squad.

Weiss, who was shot walking in the 1200 block of Meridian Avenue, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.13 at the time of his death.

* The death of Travon Bey, 23, of East St. Louis, was ruled a homicide. He died of a gunshot wound to the abdomen and was pronounced dead at Gateway Regional Medical Center.

Bey was shot during an altercation on Fifth Street in Madison on Nov. 3. Two men have been charged in his murder, which was investigated by the Major Case Squad.

* The death of David W. Smith, 34, of Alton, has been ruled accidental. According to the report, Smith died of an overdose of cocaine and heroin.

He had been found unresponsive in his home by his fiancee on Oct. 2. He was found to have cocaine, heroin and benzodiazepines in his system.

Contact reporter Elizabeth Donald at edonald@bnd.com or 239-2501.