Jewels53
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Thanks for this. xI had a request to make my avatar as Riley Strain in a green heart in remembrance of Riley for today. Today is his funeral. I made a temporary fb and avatar if you choose to make one it is up to you. jmo
I'm curious too. ButAgree and would like to know what he allegedly did that was so horrible to then force the bar to toss him out.
Agreed. Although I myself suggested that his family likely wishes that someone had walked him back to the hotel, I’m sure they would not have a blame mentality about it, and fully understand that no one could see the future, and the fraternity brothers would not have been anticipating that Riley would get completely turned around, and lost, with such disastrous consequences.And there have been some suggestions maybe the others in the group are at fault for not walking RS back to the hotel. Hindsight always gives a different picture but for all we know, it was common when this group was out drinking for one person (maybe even RS) to have to leave early. Maybe it was usual for that person to leave alone and nothing ever went wrong before. And it was only a few minutes walk to the hotel. A terrible outcome but not really the fault of the group or the bar IMO.
MOO
Particularly to your last paragraph, his friends didn't know he'd be denied at the adjacent bar. Perhaps they thought he only had to navigate crossing the street, to where they'd all then meet up again, and from which ultimately leave together.I'm curious too. But
1) The family does know what happened in the bar. I expect they've also talked to the other men in the group so I doubt they only know what the bar management told them. Riley Strain’s phone had power, ‘did not die’: Family friend
2) It's been stated RS was trying to do a good deed in a situation, a situation that, IMO, most likely didn't really involve him. (See above link) It's been a very long time but I do know from working in a restaurant with a bar that inebriated customers "trying to help" usually are not at all helpful. (And if the situation with the "helpful" customer escalates, people will quickly ask why that person was not removed sooner!)
3) For lots of reasons (including those in #2) bars do toss customers out for behavior that may not be "so horrible" but has a good chance of leading to a more problematic situation later on.
There's also been debate here about "over-serving" but RS was served only one alcoholic drink & 2 waters before he was asked to leave Luke's. But we do know the group had been to at least two bars that evening and may have been drinking at the hotel as well.
And there have been some suggestions maybe the others in the group are at fault for not walking RS back to the hotel. Hindsight always gives a different picture but for all we know, it was common when this group was out drinking for one person (maybe even RS) to have to leave early. Maybe it was usual for that person to leave alone and nothing ever went wrong before. And it was only a few minutes walk to the hotel. A terrible outcome but not really the fault of the group or the bar IMO.
MOO
RSBMDied when hitting the ground and rolled into river? Therefor no water in lungs. However, if this is the case there should prob. be some visible head injury from the fall.
I’m also curious regarding sedatives, GHB, in particular. Might explain why the report of no foul play related trauma.RSBM
I am very interested to see how the autopsy recorded Riley's head injury when he stumbled and hit that street sign post. It must have shown broken blood vessels before a real bruise could start developing. Maybe a laceration of the skin, as well?
If the motive was robbery, they definitely would have taken his watch, IMO.
Also interested if toxicology shows GHB in his system.
I’m wondering. I suppose if law enforcement and medical examiner see no reason to investigate further, they would refuse.Will the family will be facing an uphill battle with the Nashville PD if they request Riley's death be switched from accidental death into a criminal investigation? Two different autopsies were performed and both ME's reached the same conclusion - accidental death with no evidence of foul play. Can the PD refuse to re-investigate the death as a possible homicide?
Such a handsome young man with so much more life to live. Just sad all around...About 10 minutes ago, Greenlawn Funeral Home East - Springfield, MO, posted a tribute video - Riley Strain.
It is 19:29 (19 minutes - 29 seconds). Of course, there are many pictures of Riley.
It is on Riley's Obit page at Greenlawn.
~~~ Rest in peace, Riley ~~~
Riley Ray Strain
Riley Strain age 22 passed away on March 22, 2024, in Nashville, Tennessee. Born in Springfield, Missouri, on January 2, 2002, Rileygreenlawnfuneralhome.com
"IF' is the longest word in the English language.It’s clear that they do.
However, death at 22 is horrible in it’s finality, and I’m sure from his mother’s perspective, she simply can’t believe he’s gone, and agonizes over how it could have been prevented, if only he’d been walked back to the hotel by someone.
I can understand both sides.
I really don't think that LE sees any reason to investigate further. Unless the toxicology report comes back with something weird and so far unexplained, I think Riley's death is accidental.I’m wondering. I suppose if law enforcement and medical examiner see no reason to investigate further, they would refuse.
I’ve heard of families that then hire their own investigators. And I’ve read of rulings which changed from accidental to homicide.
I don’t think this would apply to Riley’s case — unless new evidence were found.
Thank you for sharing your own personal and painful experiences. I’m sorry you had to go through them, and I understand how an accidental ruling for a death can be as traumatic for families as a homicide ruling: perhaps in some ways even more so.I really don't think that LE sees any reason to investigate further. Unless the toxicology report comes back with something weird and so far unexplained, I think Riley's death is accidental.
I have been through two of these drowning investigations in my own family, and yes, it was difficult to accept the accidental rulings in both cases, we KNEW in the the Medical Examiner and our local Sheriff's Department had investigated both cases fully. Speaking from experience, these investigations (especially the first one) tore our family apart. There were some questions early on about the circumstances of the my first brother-in-law's death. Very serious questions, because in the beginning it was thought that he may have been murdered, due to the conflicting stories his girlfriend had given to LE. In the end, his drowning was ruled accidental, which it was, but it is hard for a family to accept that someone who is a strong swimmer got caught in an undercurrent that killed him. The actual autopsy for me wasn't as hard to read and understand as the tox screen was. He has numerous substances on board which probably contributed to his death, alcohol being the biggest one. I had to actually do a lot of research and talk to various doctors to understand the toxicology report. I hope Riley's parents have someone who will be able to explain the final autopsy report and the toxicology report to them, so they understand how Riley died.
If it wouldn't have been for Nova here at WS, I wouldn't have made it through that period in my life.
First autopsy of Riley Strain not unusual, St. Louis expert says
An expert who has looked at bodies pulled from the Mississippi River for decades weighs in on the preliminary autopsy findings.www.ksdk.com
Dr. Michael Graham has examined dozens of bodies pulled from the Mississippi River throughout the 40 years he spent as St. Louis' Medical Examiner.
The recently retired pathologist said the absence of water in the lungs of a body that has decomposed for that long is not unusual. A victim could still drown and be found without water in their lungs.
Many of the bodies pulled from rivers and other bodies of water are also found nude are partially nude, Graham said. Clothes and shoes can be pulled off by currents, get snagged by something in the water or possibly be weighed down by getting filled with sand.
Metro Nashville Police Department spokesperson Kris Mumford said Strain’s death “continues to appear accidental" after a detective attended the first autopsy, The Tennessean reportedSunday. Mumford said toxicology results were pending, but there is no apparent foul play. The first autopsy won’t be complete until all testing is finished.
So there may be a natural cause of death which preceded going into the water.
The easy answer is the one that most drunk people won't abide by: don't get so s***faced you cause a ruckus and get kicked out of a bar, have no clue where you are and don't know where you're going. Everyone knows that trying to reason with a drunk person is a lost cause.Can't disagree with any of that. Public drunkenness not being a crime everywhere is news to me (and downright unAmerican, if you ask me. Where are the stocks when you need 'em?) My reply simply followed another's thoughts of pouring a drunk into an Uber -- there will always be the money situation. And as you mentioned the safety issue. And others. There are no easy answers.