Why, when a nearly lifeless, heavily drugged teenager is found by paramedics at midday in the private residence of two adults with whom he has no identifiable relationship, and when the adults have no reasonable explanation for why the teenager was in their home in the first place, and when at least one of the two adults has a criminal record, is the residence not secured properly – at least in the short term – or given even cursory professional investigation as a potential crime scene? This omission strikes me as something our community would find problematic. I mean, wouldn’t this scene seem a little fishy to you, and especially if you were a trained law enforcement professional?
Perhaps an investigation would turn up no evidence of potential criminal activity at the scene where the teen was found. But shouldn’t local law enforcement treat this scenario as a crime scene until they know for sure how this high school senior ended up near death in these random adults’ residence at noon on a weekday? Wouldn’t you think they would WANT to know what the heck was going on in this residence, and determine for themselves precisely what the nature of these adults’ relationship to this teenager was?
According to federal authorities, yes…yes they should. To wit:
…officers should secure the crime scene (NOTE : the author is referring to the site of an overdose critical injury or fatality as the “crime scene”) as if it were the site of a homicide. They should direct nonessential personnel, such as emergency medical workers, and family members away from the area and document everyone who enters it. Homicide and drug investigators, as well as crime scene technicians, should be called to the site. Before anything is disturbed, the entire scene should be photographed, including the victim. Only then should the victim be turned over to the medical examiner for an autopsy. Finally, investigators should perform an organized search to gather physical evidence.
Drug crimes usually yield two valuable pieces of evidence not always present in other crimes. First, investigators should pay particular attention to any items of paraphernalia that could be used to package and store drugs, as well as to mechanisms that someone could use to ingest a drug. Heroin typically is packaged in small glassine or wax bags about the size of a quarter and then is ingested by either snorting it through the nose or injecting it into the body. During the search, investigators should look for cut drinking straws or rolled paper, such as dollar bills, used to snort heroin. To inject heroin, users must liquefy it, typically accomplished by heating the heroin and some water on a spoon with a candle or cigarette lighter. Therefore, investigators also should search for spoons, heat sources, and hypodermic needles used to inject heroin. Because prescription drugs can be crushed and snorted, investigators should look for pill bottles and devices capable of crushing hard pills into a powder.
Items of drug paraphernalia prove especially important because they may contain samples of the drug. Officers should carefully package objects suspected of containing drugs or drug residue in separate containers and transfer them to a laboratory for analysis to determine the specific drug, its purity level, and any adulterants or other substances combined with it. Advances in technology have enabled some laboratories to conduct a signature analysis of the drugs that provides its specific chemical composition, or signature,6 which then can be compared with that of another sample of drugs to help determine if both originated from the same batch. This test can prove crucial in linking the drugs found on an overdose victim back to the original dealer. In addition to chemical testing, investigators should request that the submitted evidence be examined for latent fingerprints.
(I know I am not supposed to even MENTION this stuff publicly. I am supposed to sit back month after month and continue to express total confidence that everything is being investigated thoroughly and aggressively. But I gotta tell you, this is becoming increasingly difficult for me to do. My child was hospitalized April 27th and died May 31. It is now August 25th.)
April 27, 2010
May 31, 2010
Please know that I have not made the decision to share these very upsetting, painful, intimate photos of my child lightly. I’ve agonized over it. But after a lot of thought, I decided that I want this community to see more clearly than my words can convey what happened to my child.
Some would argue, I know, that fatal overdoses from illicit drugs – or those leading to critical injury – should simply be treated as unfortunate accidents that don’t necessitate any criminal investigation or potential prosecution for anyone involved. Again, federal law enforcement authorities disagree and have some specific guidance for communities battling the scourge of opiate addiction and overdose, as we clearly are in Knoxville, Tennessee:
A drug overdose that drew national media attention inspired the creation of a law that now allows investigators to target drug trafficking organizations responsible for overdose deaths. In June 1986, the Boston Celtics’ first-round draft pick, Len Bias, was found dead in his college dormitory from a drug overdose. That same year, in response to Bias’ death, as well as to the proliferation of crack cocaine, Congress enacted new federal drug laws. One of the provisions, commonly referred to as the Len Bias Law, provides for a mandatory minimum term of incarceration for 20 years and a maximum life sentence for a dealer who distributes drugs that cause death or serious bodily injury.9 Therefore, drug dealers face a penalty of no less than 20 years in federal prison if it can be determined that the drugs they sold caused the overdose, regardless of the quantity. In federal, as well as most state, prosecutions, sentences for drug crimes are determined by the quantity of drugs sold. In cases involving an overdose, however, the quantity of drug sold is secondary, possibly even irrelevant, in determining a defendant’s sentence. It is not necessary that the victim die from a drug overdose for this law to apply. The Len Bias Law provides for the same punishment if death or serious bodily injury occurs as a result of the drugs.10 Federal law defines serious bodily injury as that which involves, “a substantial risk of death; protracted and obvious disfigurement; or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty.”11 If the victim suffers a drug overdose but does not die, investigators should consult with their prosecutor to determine if the overdose falls within the definition of serious bodily injury.
All law enforcement agencies should join in this effort to investigate these crimes. The benefit of investigating drug overdoses derives from the enhanced sentencing provision of the law. Faced with lengthy jail terms, as well as the desire not to be associated with a death, suspects and potential defendants may be more apt to cooperate with law enforcement than in other investigations. Cooperation may allow defendants to escape the mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years. To this end, investigators may be able to quickly garner the assistance of suspects, thereby rapidly identifying and targeting other persons working up the chain of supply. Rather than targeting a single dealer, investigations should aim to identify all individuals involved in the chain of distribution of the drugs to the victim, thus dismantling an entire organization.
Let me be as clear as I can: based on what I know with significant certainty about what happened to my teenage son – both with regard to the assault and the overdose he suffered – there is a HIGH likelihood that someone else’s teenage or young adult son or daughter in our community will also overdose and die in a similar fashion unless investigators and prosecutors treat Henry’s death as something other than an unfortunate accident attributable only to my son’s admitted drug problem. And that breaks my heart. Because I can’t ever have my child back, but no one else should lose their beloved boy or girl because no one in authority cared enough about this case to truly advocate for the very best investigation and at least an attempt at prosecution.
Henry with his little brother and sisters (he’s holding C), plus cousins at our annual family beach trip.
Yesterday Henry’s little brother, E, who is 12, asked me why the people who gave his big brother the drugs that hurt him haven’t been arrested. I told him I couldn’t really answer that. He asked me if the people who hit Henry in the head and chest had been arrested. I told him they hadn’t. Then he asked me if the grown-ups who refused to call 911 for a long while when Henry was lying unconscious and barely breathing right in front of them were in any kind of trouble. I told him no, not so far. He was very confused.
So am I.
99 Responses to “Something I find difficult to understand”
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Please, keep talking.
I agree with e. Reading the first paragraph of what you wrote, it would seem to me that the paramedics entered into a situation which would give them ‘reason to suspect’ in which case the local police department should have been notified. Everything you have written points to ‘reason to suspect.’ So, now, I would begin to be suspicious as to why it appears that the circumstances you so aptly describe have given no one ‘reason to suspect.’
My six year old walked by and saw Henry’s picture and said, Mom, wait, go back to that. And he studied him for a minute and said, WHOA. Cool. And I told him what a good big brother H was to his little brothers and sisters. Someday I will share the other pieces of his legacy.
Maybe one of the police investigators involved could be emailed E’s questions and see if s/he has a reply. Seriously.
What have the DA’s and sheriff’s offices have in ways of answers to those questions? Perhaps you can ask them to look your son in the face and tell them why nothing has been done regarding those who hurt Henry and contributed to his death.
Their answer, I suspect, is that there is insufficient evidence and legal reasons to make the arrests. If that is the case, they should have a thorough official explanation of that on record so that everyone can see this. Otherwise, it makes no sense at all.
Have any of these authorities given you any solid reasons? Have any of them made any comments regarding to Henry’s own culpability and involvement in his injuries and drug use that day?
Children often see situations so much more clearly and to the point. I am sorry that yours have these questions without any answers that make sense. That their beloved, gifted, talented, wonderful brother should be involved in drugs and a seedy life is a hard enough situation to understand, but the evil power of drugs and mental illness is a reality that makes that the case. There is no such explanation for these authorities who should be acting responsibly and morally. That they are not, is appalling.
I hope the answers to those questions come soon.
My mama fear is growing. I know that the next thing likely to happen is that those who failed to investigate and prosecute will become increasingly defensive and Katie will be publicly villified. I know that’s coming because it has happened to other mothers who demanded answers and justice. Please be prepared for the onslaught in whatever form it takes. I so very much don’t want them to hurt my daughter any more than she already has been hurt. And, hurting her, villifying her, spreading untruths about her (and Henry) will hurt the other children even more than they have been hurt. That’s just intolerable to think about.
According the the LHJ article Katie’s website gets between 8,000 and 12,000 page views each day. I don’t know if this is feasible but I doubt the KPD would keep shuffling their feet if they received 8 or 12,000 emails or phone calls each day. May readers mobilize and express their public outrage in this manner? I’m reticent to suggest anything as I don’t know if it would be a help or a hindrance and certainly no one wants to hinder. But I’m sure a great number of people would be more than willing to help in this manner if given the green light.
I also know that if this occurred in any town in which I’ve ever lived, if I had a dying child in my home and did nothing, that I would be under police scrutiny and quite probably arrested and held liable. I don’t understand this at all.
Sending continued prayers and good karma…
From dewi:
“I worked in an ER, and I know that the police are not routinely sent to a house when the EMS picks-up an overdose or (unconscious person).”
That’s pretty strange. Are the police notified if the EMS picks up someone who’s been shot or stabbed? What’s the difference? Or, I guess the relevant question is: How do the police know there’s a difference if they aren’t called?
A 17-year-old girl in my state died of a drug overdose this past May. Five adults were arrested in August in relation to the case. And this was a situation where there was no assault — just an overdose, which some might argue was her own doing.
http://www.wltx.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=93258
So arrests for this type of thing DO happen. Of course, it’s hard not to wonder if a key difference in going after those responsible is age. At 17, this girl technically was still a minor child, while Henry, at 18, was legally an adult — though, let’s face it, they are both examples of *children* dying way too young of this horrible affliction.
Like so many others, I only learned of your blog after Henry’s passing, and my heart continues to ache for you and your family. I wish you as much comfort and peace as possible.
I have been researching this in the Tennessee Criminal code, and I can find nothing requiring a person to assist another person in medical need. (Obviously there is a moral and social responsibility to do so, but apparently not a legal one.)
I suspect that no drugs would have been found in the home of these people even if the police had searched. They had time to get rid of any evidence.
I know this is unfair, but I don’t believe that they are chargeable.
Yes typically police are called by EMT when they show up and see or told there was a crime commited.
I agree with Suzanne, it’s unlikely the low lifes in that house told the EMT (if they were actually called to the house) what had happened.
Many times drug addicts put someone who OD out on the street, then call 911 to report they see an unconscious person in the street.
A bunch of cowards that did not help H!
I’m not playing Devil’s advocate here.
In looking at the Federal law you cited (and Federal may not apply in this case), it states a “dealer” who “sold” could be held culpable in an overdose or drug related death. Were the drugs ingested after the beating sold or given to Henry? Did those drugs come from a user or a dealer? Was Henry conscious when the drugs were offered and administered? Could he communicate at all at that time? There are also legal guidelines regarding contributory negligence and assumption of risk. There is also the difference in criminal and civil law, and state and federal law. I’ve worked on a case where a homeowner, her son (blamed for not watching an overdose victim – an acquaintence, who he thought was drunk) and the homeowner’s insurance company were sued for negligence. Are the adults in this case the homeowner or the renters where was son was found by EMT workers?
I’m not an attorney and this is not legal advice. Even if arrests are made, it doesn’t mean that the charges will stick. There would still be a long, and maybe disappointing, road to travel, and I know you are willing to make that journey. Your family needs to be aware that anything could happen along that road. (And I don’t want answers to any of these questions. Just pointing out that many things here are open to legal interpretation.)
Katie, I’m a prosecutor in another state and sadly, I think I understand what happened, at least wrt the residence where Henry was found. Perhaps under your state & local law there should have been an immediate police securing of the scene. But there wasn’t, and by the time the police came back, there was very little to investigate. Have the people in the house given statements? If they’ve denied everything and there is no contradictory evidence, the police are in a jam (of their own making to be sure — I am NOT justifying their mistake!) In terms of the the person who sold drugs to Henry and the person who hit him — the assault to me seems clear, if they knew who did it. I’m sure your lawyer has told you have a civil suit in the makings, though I suspect the people in question are judgment-proof (ie, no money) but perhaps I’m wrong. You can also name them, but then you open your own self to a libel/slander suit.
I am pro-law enforcement — I have to be in my job — but they do make mistakes. You should keep fighting for your son. The fight may not end in a prosecution — it may end in a change in local law enforcement guidelines or something else — but it IS the good fight and it WILL help others, even if Henry doesn’t get proper justice.
Stay strong, Katie. I am thinking of E and his questions. They are mine, as well. Thanks for continuing to write, and for continuing the fight for justice.
wow. I have no good answers to your questions. I suppose the only answer is that people are either too lazy, too uncaring, too jaded, too irresponsible, or simply too chicken to do what needs to be done. And somehow those people live and sleep with that truth, and I hope it eats at them. I happen to believe that truth is a stubborn braud, who fights until she finds the light of day. I pray for you that I am right. I pray for you that Henry’s truth, the truth of his horrific experience is brought into the daylight, and that the people responsible are held responsible.
Good for you for fighting for your precious son, your baby. The truth is your story could be my story, and anyone else’s story. It is important that we as parents, as a community, demand justice, or Henry’s story will be someone else’s tomorrow. Keep fighting. Keep kicking and screaming. You are doing your job. You are loving your son outloud, and I hope somehow you get resolution, and most of all that you find healing and peace. prayers for you and yours.
Know that you’re not alone in this fight. We’re all behind you.
J,
What if there are witness statements? Not people who live in the house, but were in the house at different points in time while Henry was there, and can testify to his state and the actions and inactions of the people who live there? Witness credibility will be an issue, but I wonder if the residents do not have priors… The physical evidence at the scene is important, but can’t there be a conviction without it?
On a separate note, today Canada’s largest city Toronto, formally endorsed the Vienna Declaration, which espouses a harm reduction approach to drug use. It is the first city in the world to do so (Toronto is the capital of the province of Ontario, which was the first jurisdiction in the world to legalize same sex marriage. Just sayin’.)
“The Toronto Drug Strategy is a comprehensive strategy for the City of Toronto based on four components: prevention; harm reduction; treatment; and enforcement. All four components are needed to effectively reduce the harms of alcohol and other drug use. The vision of the Toronto Drug Strategy is for the “improved quality of life of individuals, families, neighbourhoods and communities in Toronto by creating a society increasingly free of the range of harms associated with substance use”.”
I know Katie that you have not supported harm reduction in previous posts, but I am in favour of it –I see the evidence all around me here in western continental Europe that a public health approach to addiction seems to pay huge social dividends — and thus I find this news tremendously exciting and hopeful.
Anyways, reading about this made me think of Henry. Especially this section of the Vienna Declaration itself:
“In the context of overwhelming evidence that drug law enforcement has failed to achieve its stated objectives, it is important that its harmful consequences be acknowledged and addressed. These consequences include but are not limited to:
…
- Stigma towards people who use illicit drugs, which reinforces the political popularity of criminalising drug users …”
I can’t help thinking that it is the stigma wrt drug users that is at the root of what has (and hasn’t) happened in the police investigation….
Monika, I don’t know Tennessee law at all. Witness statements can certainly be powerful evidence and people can, under certain circumstances, be impeached by their prior crimincal convictions (and of course, the witnesses whose statements contradict the statements of the residents can also be impeached). What would be at issue is what is needed to prove the various crimes, under the relevant criminal code, beyond a reasonable doubt. I am not sure what crime is being investigated against the residents of the house — providing drugs to Henry, not calling for help when Henry was clearly in need, or assaulting him. WRT providing the drugs, if the residents had a chance to clear the house after Henry was taken to hospital, and the scene was compromised, it would be very hard to prove that (IMO) unless there is some other evidence — a photo taken by someone’s cell phone, fingerprints, etc. That’s why I think the failure to treat the house as a potential crime scene, as Katie says, is a significant error that may seriously hamper any potential prosecutions. In terms of helping Henry, again, the state law standards will be at issue.
My point is more that, unfortunately, sometimes errors made at the outset can totally derail any potential prosecution because it may mean that there is no other way to compile necessary evidence. Couple this with (quite possibly) a reluctance to prioritize crimes against addicts, and you end up with this kind of terrible situation. But, as a parent and a prosecutor, I STILL think Katie should go on fighting. There is more than one way to skin a cat, and maybe here a civil suit or pushing through changes in the way drug overdoses, etc. are investigated will be Henry’s legacy, instead of a prosecution of the people who so cowardly didn’t get help for him.
A conviction for criminally negligent homicide requires proof that the defendant engaged in criminally negligent conduct that resulted in the death of the victim. Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-13-212(a). Criminally negligent conduct occurs when the defendant “ought to be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk” that a death will occur and “[t]he risk must be of such a nature and degree that the failure to perceive it constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that an ordinary person would exercise under all the circumstances as viewed from the [defendant's] standpoint.” Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-11-302(d). Criminally negligent homicide is a Class E felony. Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-13-212(b).
If someone is lying in your living room unconscious and bleeding from the ears, you ought to be aware that of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that death will occur. The risk of death is such that a failure to perceive it is a gross deviation from the standard of care that an ordinary person would exercise under all the circumstances if the same thing was happening in their living room.
E, I agree with you. However, I’m assuming (perhaps wrongly) that there are conflicting reports about Henry’s state. There was one report Katie linked to where the autopsy said Henry had not been beaten with an object, where his original injuries & report of them (broken jaw, etc) clearly demonstrated he HAD been beaten with an object. When a prosecutor is faced with absolutely conflicting evidence, esp. conflicting official evidence, s/he cannot expect to prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt. Also, one would have to look at the caselaw re criminally negligent homicide to see what kind of cases are prosecuted (in some jurisdictions, this kind of statute is de facto only charged in cases where the defendant clearly owed the person a certain duty of care — eg, a parent whose negligence results in the death of their child. Also, in cases of drug-related deaths, frequently the witnesses on both sides are drug users and may have records — as a result, both are impeachable.
Look, I think the police made serious errors here. VERY serious errors. I am NOT saying no crime occured. I’m saying that it may be that no crime may be prosecuted which is different. However, based on my personal experience as a prosecutor, I think I understand (unfortunately) why they are not prosecuting –I think it’s because those initial errors left them with a situation where it was impossible to gather enough good evidence. And as I said before I think Katie should CONTINUE to fight for Henry, and I am sure she will make a huge and positive difference, regardless of the vagaries of the DA’s office.
Because cops are human beings and they make mistakes, Katie.
Also, your son was a drug addict. Using in the middle of the day with other users. While the situation is unique to you, cops run into this kind of thing every single day. Right or wrong, law enforcement tends to look at the addicted as a case of Bed, Made, Lie.
I don’t mean to sound heartless…it’s a very fucked-up world in which we live.
I wrote in once before, worried that you, Kate, were too hopeful about the police doing anything. I found for action from the police for a similar death for more than a year, and I now feel I could never live in that district, so deep is the animous of the police against me. I did things like are recommended above- I went to the city council, I went to the press, I tried to figure out why the police would cover for dealers who then were negligent (this person just needed a 911 call, too). What I’ve made peace with is some way of thinking that some cops (not the ones I dealt with) must get frustrated by how suicidal the drug life is.
Imagine, you risk your life to save someone from harm, pull them out of a dicey situation, and they return. Imagine, you give CPR, they spend weeks in a hospital- and they return. This helps me to understand the passivity in regard to drug deaths. I think cops see, and I think it hurts them to see, the addicts ask for it.
I was on a jury once for the rape of a crack addict. She had prostituted herself plenty before. We didn’t get justice for her. I was torn up about it at first, and then I realized: where she went, we could not follow. Justice just can’t keep up with the choices deep drug addiction brings. We assume prudence and innocence on behalf of victims- we assume they don’t want to be harmed.
Because of my own experience losing my most loved one, I hope this does not sound harsh: but drug addicts are not like most victims. They participate willingly in the danger, and, it is always sad to learn- the culpability. Your son dealt drugs too and with that comes dirty hands. I’m just suggesting you find peace in letting it go. The real cause is the drug addiction. Focussing on whether or not the police care is a dark rabbit hole, and a distraction, really. The real threat to human beings is not some lazy cops in a police department- its whatever makes the addicts live the way they do. Focus your energies on the new research on preventives to drug abuse, is my advice. And may your survive this all. I did, but feel like it is hardly possible.
Oh, I agree with you completely, J. I was just posting what I’d found about the state criminal code. I’ve never been a prosecutor, and I realize there are choices that have to be made. It seems that if the people had invited H into their home to stay overnight, knowing he was already hurt/high/sick, they might have a heightened duty to him. Not sure if that applies in criminal law.
Sorry for the typos. I “fought” for more than a year. And so on.
I do think people need to stop saying the cops don’t care. I really think that is wrong. I think they see far more than we imagine when it comes to the choices drug addicts make. We’d all get calloused if we were trying to save people who didn’t want it.
Who are we to accuse them of not caring? If we are dragging drug addicts off the streets, physically keeping them from using until their brains recover, who are we?
My son is 21 yo and has been to rehab. Went to my sister in east bummble and was straight . Ca
Came home to the same environment and got high right away. Is now fighting every day, he
‘s on Suboxin where he started two years ago. Sweetest, smartest, nicest kid ever.
Always thought he’d be a pediatrician not a drug addict. My sweet, sweet baby boy fights this
every day. All day. I fight this horrible thing every day. I was a single parent, did I
screw him up, did his genes screw him up? My son went to Catholic school all of his life.
. He was class president in 8th grade. In 9th grade he got so high he broke into his grade
school. I made him go to our parish priest and confess and tell who he did it with and
what drugs he was on. It doesn’t go away, it just changes, camoflouges. Your son was a
beautiful, sensitive young man and I think they are more susceptible because they feel
other people’s pain.
Katie: I have to tell you I find this rather shocking in a city the size of Knoxville.
My mother recently passed away in her sleep in her own home at the age of 78. She was found by my sister-in-law who went over to see why Mom wasn’t answering the phone. My SIL immediately notified the authorities and the police were there within minutes to secure the location. They would not let my SIL leave even though my nieces were in the car waiting (they’re 16 and 13 so not a huge deal).
My brother came within minutes after the police but they kept him separate from his wife. They were each questioned independently and their cell phones were checked (with permission) to prove that calls were made to Mom and to each other as they stated.
They would not let my brother into her bedroom for hours. They did a complete investigation of her home, medications, bathrooms, doors, etc. along with consultations with her personal physician. Even when they were asking for information that might be in her purse, they wouldn’t allow my brother to touch it.
Mind you, this all took place in her own home and there weren’t ANY signs of trouble or trauma. In a small village in southwest Ohio, not a large city by any stretch of the imagination.
Considering Henry was NOT in his own home, NOT with relatives and had injuries, I’d say something is very, very wrong here.
What’s the connection between the officers on the scene and the homeowners?
Addiction is so tricky a thing to study that even what they might have told people a few years ago has been overturned. Add to this that there is some interest in sending political messages through the description of addiction (is it a disease or not?) I’d recommend the brand new collection of the findings by the top researchers in various related fields- if you don’t understand what makes gambling an addiction of the same kind as heroin- you need to read this book and about the fMRI studies that can detect addiction when it is there, and when it goes–”What is Addiction?” by MIT Press. http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=12132
Seeing what Henry suffered and what you had to witness makes me physically ill…and full of rage.
Nanny/Mama, we’ll have her back. we will.
What I have noticed about Knox County as of late is that teenagers are fast becoming an endangered species. I think back on the Eric McLean murder of Sean Powell, an 18 year old former West High Student – Eric served all of two years and then Erin McLean served only time for disobeying court orders. I think of the two students who were recently shot – one killed 3 weeks ago. I think of your son who was killed this year – drug usage may have been an aggrivating circumstance – but he was killed, in part, because of the failure of those who were aware of his medical condition, refused to do anything timely about it because, well, they’d probably be arrested for this that or the other, themselves.
The city/county is seemingly soft on crimes involving teenagers, especially when these crimes involve adults. In each of the situations the victims were too critically injured or deceased to give a statement. And the investigators give it “well, if we can’t talk to the victim, we only have one version of the story, which there’s no proof of a crime.” HELLO! The victim is deceased and correct they can’t give a statement but that doesn’t mean a crime didn’t occur.
I have too much cynicism from investigators in this town. Somebody needs to retire, and let some more energic, less-jade folk look into these crimes. I mean from the crime scene and throughout the investigation. I want them to stop worrying about how badly their egos are taking and hit and do some doggon good old fashion detective work.
Get these crimes solved, and get these dangerous apathetic, could-care-less-about-any-body-but-themselves-narcissistic creeps off our streets and in jail where they should be for a very long time.
Life for a life.
Teenagers are generally, not going to be able to defend themselves, or survive crimes like older adults can. Their too immature, too trusting, and not experienced enough to know just how dangerous people can be.
First and foremost, I am truly sorry for your loss.
Secondly, I say fight, fight, fight! Focus your pain, anger and grief to seek justice and accountability. Even if you never gain any satisfaction and you won’t because you will never have your son back, you can increase the chances that the next time something like this happens that it will get treated properly.
I hope you find peace and comfort. I am so very sorry.
I’m so angry. I was an EMT. The cops always respond with us. If there was possible drug use/people with criminal history? The cops would go in FIRST and secure the scene, make sure it was safe, and then we’d come in. I wish I had been the one responding. I wish things had been different. We actually had a recent meth lab bust because of something cops noticed on a 911 call.
I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.
My heart is in pieces everytime I read your post. Thank you for letting us in on such private and very painful times. Don’t give up the fight for Henry, scream, shout, holler if you have to, but keep on fighting for what you know it right.
I think you need to involve your whole community. Including the friends of Henry. Anyone that knew/ loved Henry needs to be involved in this fight.
I knew Amy Bousfield from going to see her perform in her schools plays. She was a great girl headed to great places. It has been said that she died of a heroin overdose at a party she attended and it was her first time EVER using drugs. Heroin is the new Marajuana to our children. Many pain medications are being crushed and cooked and shot into these childrens precious veins. Death could happen the first time they experiment. EVERY parent should be involved in stopping the drug pushers and “salesmen”.
April 2008: Jordan Jackson, 19, who had been expelled from Portage Central, dies from complications of acute-heroin intoxication.
June 2008: Amy Bousfield, 18, dies of a heroin overdose three weeks after graduating from Portage Central. Portage city and school officials host a forum two weeks later on teenage drug abuse.
July 2008: Amanda Teeple, 17, a former Portage Northern student who moved to suburban Detroit, dies of a possible drug overdose in Garden City; her death remains under investigation. Carrie Wickham, 17, a former Portage Central student, is charged with supplying the heroin that killed Bousfield.
August 2008: A 21-year-old Waterford man is charged with helping to obtain the heroin that killed Bousfield. SWET also arrests two other area men for dealing heroin.
It needs to be handled swiftly so that no other children die from this.
I hope this is not the case, but I’ve been told by several people that Knoxville is a hotbed of opiate addiction/use, especially among young people. Pretending it isn’t so will lead to more deaths, more brain damage, more heartbreak.
The “war on drugs” has resulted in half a million incarcerated individuals in the U.S. (five times the rate of incarceration than any other country), more money spent than any other country on law enforcement, and more drugs than ever on the streets. It’s safe to say that expecting our law enforcement to solve this isn’t working. We spend seven times as much on policing and incarceration than we do on treatment, and THAT is what needs to change.
@Debra, do you REALLY think local law enforcement is NOT reading her blog? You can’t post something and then get weirded out when it gets re-posted on the INTERNET.
In the eyes of the law, Henry was also an adult in a house of 2 other adults. Sorry (and I don’t think it’s right) but you “boy” your “child” was legally a man. You have stated elsewhere in your blog that Henry had resorted to selling drugs to support his habit; well, apply the Len Bias Law (I clearly remember when he died) to this case and Henry’s arrest for possession and he could be seen as the “drug dealer” the law applies to, not for.
If you want answers, file a civil suit against the owners of the house, but be prepared for every bad, horrible, illegal and immoral thing your child did to be drug out.
Oh my goodness. Words cannot convey how my heart goes out to you. I appreciate your honesty and I love the name Henry. I pray that justice will be served and that you will find peace in knowing that God made it possible for families to be together forever.
What a gorgeous child he was. And if I were you I don’t know how I would refrain from taking a gun to that home. I will pray for your ability to forgive and find peace.
BTW, I am in Knoxville. My husband is a juvenile atty here in town. It is so so so sad how prevalent drugs are and how many children and adults have suffered. If you do decide a certain path in awareness, I would love to get involved. I attend a codependency class every week at Celebrate Recovery on Kingston Pike. It helps me deal with the issue of addiction in my own family. I honor your courage.
I submitted the suggestion to Dateline for your story. It would be a small relief for you and your family to find some justice in this heart breaking story. I am so sorry you are going through this. I don’t know what else to say…..
Could it be that the police force has been bought off by drug dealers? This has happened in other cities.
Katie, I am friends with your sis BT. I have followed your heartbreaking story and I think you should continue to pursue this.
Squeaky wheel gets the grease! I am sickened that our criminal justice & legal system is so slow and so apathetic. Do not let them off the hook. Keep pushing and go higher and higher, until someone listens. God bless you and your family. I met you at
Edisto one year.
We are all confused and outraged. I can’t imagine why they simply removed him from that apartment without some sort of investigation or arresting everyone onsite until they figured out what happened. It makes me angry beyond words. I am just so sorry for you and your family.
What ever happened to common sense in our country?
Please tell E that there are lots of people who believe your family deserves to have answers. He probably won’t really understand the magnitude of what you and your family are doing for many years but his heart has learned the real lesson already. He knows in his heart of hearts that you and your family will protect and defend him from life’s turmoils, warts and all.
While I have a great deal of sympathy and compassion for what Katie Granju has endured, I cannot help but recall a scathing, illogical, biased, and hateful commentary Katie wrote about pro-life and embryos.
For the sake of brevity, I’ll simply say that the aforementioned commentary was perhaps the most illogical, narrow-minded, hateful, insensitive, and ignorant piece of literature I have ever come upon. Read it for yourself, utter ignorance displayed by Katie.
The reason I mention the ludicrous commentary is that Katie displayed, in writing, complete insensitivity, spite, and anger to those of the pro-life position. Ironic how she now complains about the KPD’s lack of sensitivity to her son’s death. Furthermore, the sheer genius (and I use that term loosely) displayed by Katie in her barrage on those of pro-life beliefs should cause pause when examining the discrepancies between her version and the KPD’s version of her son’s death. This is not an intelligent, rational or logically thinking woman.
Typically, those of a liberal mindset have a hard time accepting responsibility or accepting unfortunate events without blaming others. Katie is no different. She comes across as a woman who blames others for everything that goes wrong. She attacks those with differing opinions in a truly ludicrous manner. Google the commentary if you don’t believe me.
If I were Katie, I’d take this opportunity to crticize her parenting skills, or lack thereof. While my heart and prayers go out to her family and loved ones, this is truly a classless and unintelligent woman.
Katie – I suggest you research the meaning of the word Karma.
See this is the problem with the anominity of the internet. Any self-important Tom DICK or Harry (or John) can post stupid, insensitive things like that. If you know so much about Karma what do you think karma will hold for you saying what you said to a greiving mother?! Go crawl back under the rock in which you came out of.
Ms. Granju
I note, with gratitude, that you published the poem that my mother, Lolly Quinones, wrote afer the death of my brother, Nate (2/4/79), in a car accident. She died three months later of cancer. http://mamapundit.com/2010/07/february-by-lolly-quinones/
Thanks so much for publishing it on your blog. It means quite a bit to me, and I feel that it must have meant smething to you.
I noted, too, that, sadly, your son died due to, I guess, a heroin overdose and a beating. I’m very sorry.
I’m a reporter with the LA Times. I did an investigation into Mexican heroin traffickers who worked in many states, including
Tennessee. This may be of interest to you. They sold black tar heroin, especially to lots of young white kids who’d gotten hooked on Oxycontin and other prescription opiates.
The story is in three parts and is called the Heroin Road. You can see a link to it on he front page of my website, http://www.samquinones.com
You seem the type of person for whom more information is better than less, so i thought it might be of help to you.
Sincerely
Sam Quinones
http://www.samquinones.com
i’d add tht i’d be interested in knowing if your son or his friends used this kind of heroin, and if they procured directly, or through others who bought, from dealers using the system i describe in the series….
sincerely,
sam quinones
http://www.samquinones.com