Shortly after my teenage son Henry died on May 31, the results of his preliminary autopsy were given to the press before we were even aware they were available. At that time, law enforcement authorities spoke to the media about the preliminary autopsy’s finding of no skull fracture, saying that this finding supported their belief that Henry had never sustained a blow to the head from a weapon of any kind. (In fact, the assailants have admitted assaulting Henry during a drug deal robbery; the only part they deny, really is that they used a weapon. Other, extensive medical and corroborating witness evidence contradicts the assailants’ claims of how the assault took place, and whether they used a weapon.)
I have now had Henry’s final autopsy in my possession for a week or two. Authorities and our family agreed that it was best to keep the details of the report under wraps while the investigation is ongoing. So I have not mentioned publicly that I have it, or what it says. However, it turns out that the ME’s office has provided Henry’s final autopsy to the Knoxville News Sentinel, at the newspaper’s request, and the ME has gone on the record with a reporter about the autopsy findings. The KNS will be running a story about this, and today, they asked for and got my response to the ME’s findings and statements to them.
Thus, I feel it’s now acceptable for me to comment here about the autopsy, and where things stand with the investigation as far as I am concerned.
First, I want to make it very clear that I absolutely understand and respect the newspaper’s responsibility to ask for Henry’s final autopsy from the ME – that is their job as journalists. And I understand that the ME was totally free to release the autopsy and speak directly to the reporter (Don Jacobs, an excellent and well respected journalist). However, now that my son’s autopsy is going to hit the Web and be reported in print, I feel like I have a responsibility to speak up as well.
Henry’s final autopsy was a nightmare for me to read. Imagine reading about how your child’s brain was removed for study, and how a Y shape was cut into his chest. His beautiful brown eyes were described clinically as “brown iride.” It was an extremely painful document to read. But I did read it very carefully.
Henry’s final cause of death was noted by the ME as hypoxic brain injury as the result of accidental opiate overdose. No evidence of any external head trauma or skull fracture was found. His toxicology report (from admission on April 27) revealed several different drugs in his system.
While some may believe that our family has some kind of dispute with the ME regarding what happened to our son – we absolutely don’t. We agree in general with her findings, and I have great respect for her expertise. However, there are some key points I want to make now that the autopsy and the ME’s remarks regarding it are going to be made public:
-Our family continues to believe, based on numerous conversations we have had with those who were with Henry the day he was assaulted, as well as the medical records from his 5 week stay in the hospital before his death that Henry was assaulted with some sort of weapon, likely a tire iron or something resembling a tire iron. I accept that the ME found no evidence of substantial head trauma on the day of his autopsy, but that doesn’t negate our belief based on ALL of the evidence that 5 weeks and 2 days before the autopsy, our son was assaulted with a weapon.
-We agree with the ME that Henry’s death was not DIRECTLY due to any head trauma sustained in the assault. However, we still don’t believe the people who assaulted him should be released from any liability just because the assault didn’t ultimately kill him.
-We agree with the ME that Henry’s final cause of death was hypoxic brain injury as a result of a drug overdose. What the autopsy does not and CANNOT show is the progression of Henry’s brain injury over the course of the previous five weeks before the autopsy. Henry’s actual, more specific cause of death was a very rare COMPLICATION from the drug overdose – a complication called Delayed Post Hypoxic Leukoencephalopathy. This is noted in his medical records. However, this distinction – which the ME does not note in her autopsy or mention in the interview she apparently gave to the newspaper – is ultimately meaningless with regard to potential criminal liability; the outcome of death from an overdose is the same, no matter how you pick apart the specifics. The bottom line is that my child died of a brain injury caused by the hypoxia (lack of oxygen) that came with a drug overdose, compounded by the fact that the people with him refused (not failed, but refused) to call for help for him for a significant period of time. The ME apparently believes that Henry was headed for death from the moment he entered the hospital, while his medical records demonstrate some improvement over two weeks followed by rapid decline after the DPHL process began. But again, this is nit-picking for purposes of potential criminal liability. My son would not be dead but for the overdose-related hypoxic brain injury he received. On this, we can all agree.
So here’s the main point I want to make: I don’t want to argue with anyone about the final autopsy results. There is no point in that and everyone is in agreement on the ultimate cause of death. Instead I want to focus on investigating the source of the drugs that caused Henry to overdose and the fact that he was in fatal distress for hours in a private residence with no call made to 911 until his brain was so badly damaged. I would also very much like to see a more complete investigation of the assault that preceded the overdose, but if I had to pick one thing (I shouldn’t have to pick) for authorities to focus on, it would be the circumstances surrounding the overdose and its aftermath – the 18 hours before Henry was finally taken to the hospital.
I know a great deal about what happened during that period. I can’t share any of it publicly because the investigation is ostensibly ongoing. I continue to believe that when all the facts are clear to Knox County authorities, they will choose to at least attempt prosecution.
Yes, my boy was a drug addict. Yes, he was involved in dangerous, risky, illegal activities. We’ve never denied that. But he didn’t intend to overdose and die, and he wouldn’t have but for the actions of certain individuals who have yet to be held accountable.
I know that nothing I do or say will bring Henry back. The reason that I continue to pursue this matter – even though it has led to a great deal of pain and hurt for me due to the way I’ve been characterized by some in authority – is because I simply couldn’t live with myself if I just let it go, and then another mother loses her child at the hands of the same people who were involved in my son’s overdose death, That’s why I won’t be quiet and go away. I don’t want to see any other family go through what we’re going through when I believe that it can be prevented via a thorough investigation and prosecution.
Additionally, it is my hope that my advocacy in this matter will fundamentally change the way overdose injuries and deaths are investigated and prosecuted in Knox County, which would go a long way toward helping to end the epidemic of opiate-related deaths that is currently ravaging our community.
Thanks to everyone for your continued support. It means a lot to me, and helps me stay focused when I get discouraged and feel like giving up.
Henry Louis Granju
October 7, 1991 – May 31, 2010
55 Responses to “The continuing investigation into Henry’s death: autopsy results”
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Good for you Katie! I hope eventually Henry finds peace. JUSTICE FOR HENRY!
I’m so sorry. For what it’s worth, I think many addicts don’t intend to OD. I just can’t imagine living through what you are going through right now.
Wishing you strength as you pursue this. You are brave and smart and savvy, and I am full of admiration for you. I have every faith that you will prevail.
Do the doctors think that if Henry had immediately been taken to the hospital (rather than not taken for 18 hours) that the outcome would have been different? Or was the damage done? I am not familiar with his diagnosis of DPHL.
I’m so sorry for your loss.
Sarah – That specific question hasn’t been explored with Henry’s physicians by investigators. We hope that it will be. – Katie
Thank you for continuing to share this painful story. While I can’t imagine the pain you struggle with, your words are such an amazing help. I have faith that justice will prevail for Henry.
WHen I first saw him the day he was admitted, he was unconscious and had two horrible black eyes, a mark of some kind on his chest and a strange bald spot on the back of his head. He looked like a person who had been assaulted – physically that’s how he looked. There is no question in my mind that he was attacked with a weapon of some sort. One of his doctors told me he believed that Henry’s condition was caused by both his drug use and his physical injuries. I remember the conversation quite clearly. Most important, Henry is not the subject of an autopsy. Henry was a beautiful human being who lived 18 years, who laughed and cried and worried about other people and who – we prayed – had a long future filled with good things. If I understand correctly, Henry’s drugs did not come from other teens, but from adults who apparently don’t care who they harm and kill. No more. They need to be stopped.
My kids are still small, but I think you are absolutely right to continue to pursue justice for Henry. I agree that you should pursue prosecution of the people who refused to care for Henry, probably to protect their own drug possession or use. I haven’t read anything negative, but I think your coming out with all of the details will help other parents understand how serious and dangerous life can be for teens. Thank you for sharing.
Keep fighting. I can only hope that the authorities won’t continue to seemingly write off this investigation. Sending strength and love your way.
When a man is assaulted or there is evidence that a man might have been assaulted police investigate and prosecute. Period. Why should Henry’s case be any different? That some adults would allow a young boy to lie their unconscious for hour after hour baffles and disgusts me. That so much time has elapsed and it appears as though no real action has been taken by public officials truly scares and sorrows me. I wish you strength and pray for your success in this fight.
that should be lie THERE…oops
Katie,
I hope one day you get to find out what happened in detail, and then look at those directly involved in the eyes (beaters and drug dealers) and ask them why. Why? Why did you hit my son? Why did you let/help him OD? Why did you let him go so long unconscious before calling 911?
If they don’t feel anything, regardless of if they go to jail or not, then they are lost, and so are we. We lose as a society.
It makes me ill that you have to go on record not that long after your sons death to describe what was in his autposy report and to explain why you will not let this matter go. You are a strgon woman and my hopes for you is that you find peacr with what you are doing. For every good and positive comment you are bound to get 1,00 negative and I hope you take that negative with a grain of salt and know that what you are doing is right and just for Henry and for yourself and for your family.
But wasn’t Henry dealing drugs, too? And don’t you think the people in the house were probably just as strung out as he was? If they had died of an overdose would you hold him responsible?
I guess until the public knows what evidence you have (that you’re understandably not sharing) it’s hard to completely understand what’s going on.
Still thinking about you and your family and so so very sorry for the loss of your beautiful boy.
@lia – Henry was indeed dealing to support his own opiate habit. And as I’ve said repeatedly, if he had provably provided drugs to someone who then overdosed and died, he should have been arrested and prosecuted for that death. When you give someone illegal drugs that are the proximate cause of their death, there should be criminal accountability. – Katie
OK, so maybe the assault will never be prosecuted. But I hope like hell that your steely tenaciousness sees you though getting these folks arrested for refusing aid? Dealing drugs? Using drugs? I bet you and your readers would love to see that happen. I hope it does.
here is the thought that keeps running through my mind…Even if the individuals who didn’t call the hospital can’t be proven to criminally liable…Can they not be found guilty under the “good samaritan law”? I don’t know if TN has such a law but I know that some states do…requiring people to call authorities under certain circumstances.
What addict intends to overdose? You kind of lost me there.
This is a revolting situation. As a parent, I am horrified and frightened. As a human being, I am saddened and disgusted. I wish for peace for Henry, for you, and for your family and friends.
What a beautiful child that Henry. I love this picture of him reading Harry Potter. It makes me happy to know that he was able to enjoy one of my favorite books in his lifetime.
I send my greatest respect to you for talking about things publicly. Not only is it healing for you, but inspiring for so many. And I believe it is one of the greatest ways that you can honor Henry’s life…talking about him and memories of him…and bringing awareness to a societal issue that affects so many…especially here in Knoxville.
I hesitate to comment on your blog. It seems you have a lot of negative readers and their comments will be flooding my inbox. (More power to you for handling that)I have nothing but good feelings to pass to you.
I would like to know one thing. Out of curiosity. Being a mother who has lived through rehab. What are your feelings about methodone? I’ve heard so many conflicting opinions on the matter. Do you think it was good for Henry? Would you recommend it to other addicts?
God bless you and yours.
Reading this I wish I was living in a TV Show as far as law enforcement is concerned. So many times on all the shows out there you hear people saying we must get justice and it’s regardless of the person (addict or otherwise). Why don’t regular law enforcement see a life as a life? Henry for all his faults deserved much more than he got in his last few hours. I hope that some day this gets seen through and you get clearer answers to your questions and justice is truly done.
I have been following this story and can’t imagine your loss. I send you light, love and strength as you fight for your child. Do not give up the good fight! We are here for you.
Wow. Keep pushing, Katie.
At least now you have an answer to give Henry’s brother: the people who were with him when he overdosed have not been arrested because the investigation is ongoing and, given that they can only be tried once, it doesn’t make sense to charge anyone until there is enough evidence to support the charge or all the evidence that will ever be found has been processed. I hope that he understands enough to be able to find comfort in that.
It must be so frustrating to know things and not be able to tell anyone. I’m still not sure I understand why “the two witnesses who have phone records proving they begged these ‘friends’ for HOURS to call 911 as my son lay unconscious and vomiting on the ‘friends’’ floor on the morning of the 27th” (from your 6/4 post “Sleepless”) didn’t call 911 themselves, but I look forward to the time when you are free to tell us.
You and all of Henry’s family are in my thoughts.
Keep speaking out, Katie. Even if you don’t get justice for Henry (and I pray that you do), you may ultimately save another child’s life.
Sierra,
I think you misunderstand the Good Samaritan laws. Those laws say that if you *do* help someone, you can’t be held liable if you inadvertently cause some injury.
Sending strength and support your way.
@Anonymous, addicts intentionally overdose when they intend to commit suicide. It’s not uncommon. That’s why autopsies distinguish between accidental and intended overdoses.
@Katie, thanks again for sharing your story. You ARE doing the right thing, and I and many other parents are grateful to you for it.
Please don’t give up Katie. Keep fighting.
You are the strongest woman alive, even if you may not feel it. We are pushing right behind you. Justice for Henry.
You are doing the right thing.. I am proud of you and I admire you for how you are handling yourself in such a horrible situation. You will get through this…
Be strong, friend. You’re fighting the good fight. I’m sending lots of good thoughts your way.
Katie–Do you know why the people who picked him up took him to their home instead of to the hospital? The police know where he was staying so surely they have asked them these questions. Did Henry know these people? Even if he died of an overdose, why aren’t these people being held responsible because they didn’t take him to a hospital?
Keep on swimmin’ Katie. We are with you.
If you can’t get them in the criminal courts, can you take them to the civil courts and sue the daylights out of them?
I’m going to guess that they probably don’t have a whole lot in terms of assets but you could have them paying you for the rest of their lives.
I’m so sorry Katie.
The unimaginable loss of Henry is made far worse by having to fight for justice for him. I admire your courage and strength in the face of such sorrow and frustration with the legal system.
Here in WA State we recently enacted 911 Good Samaritan law (http://www.stopoverdose.org/) so that individuals who are with someone, who is clearly in need of medical help due to a drug related incident, seek medical assistance immediately. I simply can’t understand why these people stood by and let Henry suffer in this way. Anyone who stands by and does nothing should be sentenced to time behind bars for their part in a fatal overdose.
Keep fighting.
Katie,
what I keep coming back to when I read your posts about the autopsy and lack of head injury is this: he was in the hospital for five weeks between the incident and his passing…. wouldn’t any external proof, such as bruising, fractures, etc, have healed? Are there any tests from his initial entry to the hospital that show any head injuries?
Such a horrible thing for you to have to go through but I admire your tenacity and totally “get” why you won’t stop until this is resolved (not that it ultimately ever will be….). I would do the same. You.are.one.strong.womyn!! Don’t ever forget that!
thank you for sharing this.
A fractured skull and a broken jaw would show up in an autopsy, even after the injuries have healed. If there are no such findings, one can assume Henry’s jaw and skull were intact.
@Odd – Henry’s medical records (and the numerous conversations we had with doctors over 5 weeks) note a fractured mandible and a head trauma that is consistent with skull fracture (Battle’s sign, etc). The discrepancy is indeed puzzling, but it’s no longer something our family cares to expend a lot of energy worrying about. It’s a distraction. We are now focused on investigating the circumstances of his overdose and pursuing appropriate remedies. – Katie
@Odd. One would assume they would. The gross mishandling of this investigation is more clear to those of us who have close relationships with members of law enforcement and understand how each person connected with the investigation, from the first officials on the scene, to the medical examiner who concluded and signed off on the final autopsy results (and there are many people in between), will cover each other’s backs to avoid liability. If I had stumbled upon this blog sooner I would have suggested a second, private autopsy be performed before Henry was cremated.
I wish you peace, hope and closure.
I know you can’t discuss details, but I have some questions:
1. The text he sent you the day after he was assaulted says that the was with a friend and had been to court. Wouldn’t that mean that the friend or someone at the court would recollect the injuries from the assault? He seems lucid and present during the texts.
2. I think you said that the people he was with when he od’d were urged by others to call 911, but why didn’t those others call 911? Were there witnesses during that 18-24 hour period to what went on in the house?
I know this is so hard…I’m sorry for everything you are going through.
@Questions – He was semi-lucid the day after the assault. He complained of headache pain all day to numerous people. I believe he had a concussion but continued to walk around with it (self medicating for pain) until the overdose. When he was admitted to the hospital with the overdose, he was noted to have “Battle’s Sign” (google it), a classic, slow developing symptom of head trauma consistent with having been whacked in the head very hard 24-48 hours previously.
But that’s really neither here nor there any longer since we’re told that nothing can be done to the people who assaulted him.
As for question #2, I can’t comment while the investigation is ongoing. Sorry. I wish I could, and someday I will.
-Katie
You are so brave for sharing this. I’m so sorry you and your family must suffer this way. Thank you for what you’re doing.
Odd – one more thing that indicated a head injury was the blood coming out of his ears. An ear/nose/throat specialist was brought in to test his hearing and find out if his ear drum had been ruptured in the beating. The doctors seemed to have no doubt whatsoever that he had suffered a serious head injury based on everything they saw and test results.
I find all of this very puzzling; weren’t there broken ribs too, which also pointed to a beating? It is inconceivable that someone could assault another person and get away with it because that person dies…!
Katie, this must be excrutiating for you; I am so sorry for what you and all of Henry’s loved ones are going through.
I continue to hope and pray that you will find justice for Henry.
Katie, God bless you and your family…keep going, keep talking, do not let this go…how can WE, your readers and those who want to DO something so that this doesn’t happen to anyone else’s child, grandchild, sister, brother, how can WE help?? What can we do? Is it ok with you if we write about this on our blogs and mention this all specifically? Henry is a beautiful soul.
I don’t know you in person, live near by, or recall how I found your blog…but I’ve been riveted by it since Henry’s initial admission into the hospital.
I spent hours that first night reading all the old posts.
I feel how deep your conviction runs, and I am continuing to follow your story and family with interest.
I’ve read “Beautiful Boy” based on a reference on your blog.
I can honestly say that it’s changed my view of these matters.
It (along with Henry’s story) helped me to see the personal torture of addiction and the affect on virtually everyone around them.
I have talked about Henry’s story to my family and friends and its impact has stretched far beyond your hometown.
Through the internet and your blog…your “family” and “hometown” have no physical or geographic boundaries or barriers.
Neither do drugs or addiction.
Thank you for continuing your vigilance.
@Monika – He did not have broken ribs. This was a misquote or mistake that somehow got repeated in the media. He did, however, have evidence of a sharp blow to the chest that led to fluid around his heart. There was bruising on his chest in the shape of a shoe or boot heel.
The knoxnews.com article you linked to angers me. The police seem intimidated by your writings. You are so strong. I don’t know how you do it! I read your blog every day, hoping that one day I will read that you got the justice that Henry, you and your family deserve.
Katie, It is baffling to me that you have to keep defending your reasons for insisting upon a complete and thorough investigation into the death of your child. You are doing what any and all mothers should do in this situation. I applaud you and your willingness to extend your grief and pain in the hopes of preventing another parent from going through the exact same thing.