Mystery death of N.Y. doctor with South Jersey ties

A beloved dermatologist and talented dancer who grew up in Gloucester County died Sunday after her body was found in the doorway of a New York City apartment building, authorities said, stunning those who knew her.

Kiersten Cerveny, 38, a mother of three children who resided on Long Island, was the valedictorian of her graduating class at Washington Township High School in 1995. She was also the winner that year of America's Junior Miss, a national scholarship program for high school girls for which she was awarded $30,000.

"She was just so darn smart her entire life," said Debra DiNote, 61, of Sewell, Cerveny's childhood dance instructor. DiNote choreographed a dance that Cerveny performed to the song "This is the Moment," for the talent portion of the competition.

Previous winners of the competition, which also takes into account scholastic achievements and community service, have included personalities such as newscaster Diane Sawyer.

"She was just brilliant," DiNote said of the former Kiersten Rickenbach, "and she always reached for the stars in everything she did."

Cerveny was discovered unconscious around 8:30 a.m. at 223 West 16th Street, in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. She was taken to Lenox Hill Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, authorities said.

An autopsy was conducted Monday, but the medical examiner's office in New York said additional testing was needed to determine a cause of death. That could include toxicology tests.

Meanwhile, as rumors swirled in the New York tabloids about hard partying potentially playing a role in Cerveny's death - and about two men who were allegedly seen carrying her down the steps of the Manhattan building - DiNote and others were struggling to understand what happened.

"It's extremely shocking," DiNote said. "Because you don't expect someone that young to die."

Cerveny had a son and two daughters, DiNote said. DiNote believed them to be between the ages of 1 and 6.

DiNote said Cerveny had recently reached out via Facebook, where they kept in touch, to see if there were any old videos of her dancing as a child. The mother wanted to show them to her oldest child, a daughter who had started ballet classes, DiNote said.

"I'm going to see if we can still do that for them," she said.

Attempts to reach Cerveny's parents, who now live in Arizona, and other family members were unsuccessful Monday.

Cerveny, who DiNote said always wanted to be a doctor, graduated from Duke University and obtained a medical degree from Tulane University, according to a wedding announcement posted in the New York Times in 2009. She went on to become the chief of dermatology at Brooklyn Hospital Center in New York, before leaving several years ago for another practice.

At the center Monday, one former coworker said she was stunned.

"We don't know what to believe," said Martine Fabien, a medical assistant who worked with Cerveny at the center. "She worked so hard to get where she was, as a dermatologist."

Fabien said people often still called the center to ask for Cerveny, despite Cerveny having left the job there.

"All her patients loved her," she said.

On the website Yelp, mostly flattering reviews testified to Cerveny's care.

"She was very kind and encouraging and always seemed excited to see my daughter and I and talk to us. She remembered little details about my daughter as a person, not just a client," one person wrote on Monday. "So sorry for her family's loss."

mboren@phillynews.com

856-779-3829 @borenmc