NY Times publishes list of COVID victims on front page, caught including suspected homicide victim

The New York Times was forced to issue a correction Sunday after including a suspected homicide victim in a list of Americans who died from coronavirus.

The Times, America's so-called "paper of record," published a list of coronavirus victims on its front page on Sunday. A preview of the unique newspaper cover attracted significant attention over the weekend because it did not contain any stories or pictures — just the names of virus victims.

"U.S. Deaths Near 100,000, An Incalculable Loss," the headline read.

What followed was a list of nearly 1,000 names of Americans who have died from COVID-19. Included with each person was their age, location, and a short, but whimsical phrase describing who they were:

• Regina Cullen, 81, "Small in stature, but strong in spirit"
• Romi Cohn, 91, "saved 56 Jewish families from the Gestapo"
• Fred Gray, 75, "liked his bacon and hash browns crispy"
• Harley E. Acker, 79, "discovered his true calling when he started driving a school bus"
• William D. Greeke, 55, "thought it was important to know a person's life story"
• Philip Kahn, 100, "World War II veteran whose twin died in the Spanish Flu epidemic a century ago"

The Times also included 27-year-old Jordan Driver Haynes, a native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Times described him as calling a “generous young man with a delightful grin."

However, Haynes did not die from COVID-19. In fact, a coroner has ruled his death a homicide, KWWL-TV reported.

More from KHAK-FM:

The Cedar Rapids Police Department says a man found in a vehicle along I-380 last week was murdered.

According to a media release, an autopsy on 27-year-old Jordan Haynes ruled his death was a homicide. No other information has been released as there is an active investigation in the case.

Overnight on Sunday, the Times updated its cover and deleted social media postings that incorrectly included Haynes as a COVID-19 victim.

"Correction: Earlier editions of Sunday's front page included at least one name in error. Our original tweet containing an image of that front page has been deleted and replaced with an image of the late edition," the Times wrote on Twitter.