NV NV - Reno, WhtMale 45-65, UP7633, 'Carlos F Otero', Bronx address, suicide by IV, Aug'99

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astridxx

astridxx

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Date Found: August 14, 1999
Washoe County Coroner Case #0730-99
White male, thin build, 64.5 inches tall, 137 pounds, estimated 60 years of age. Dyed brown curly hair with grey roots, Blue/Grey eyes, wears glasses. Has a 9" vertical scar on his stomach and has upper teeth missing. Body was clad in a brown short-sleeved pajama top, a pair of red plaid boxer style shorts and a pair of brown socks. Found in Colonial Motel room. Bronx, New York fictitious address. He had a luggage tag with a fictitious name of Carlos F. Otero. Used elaborate IV device to self-inject.
Cause of Death: Overdose of thiopental/Suicide
Agency: Reno Police Department, case #189998-99

https://identifyus.org/en/cases/7633

https://identifyus.org/en/medias/full/6717 (PM pic at link)
 
I have to wonder if he was a doctor of some sort at some point in his life. I don't know that common folk would be able to rig up a drug used in lethal injections like he supposedly did. Who the heck even has access to that!?

Sodium thiopental - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Thiopental is still rarely used as a recreational drug, usually stolen from veterinarians or other legitimate users of the drug; however, more common sedatives such as benzodiazepines are usually preferred as recreational drugs, and abuse of thiopental tends to be uncommon and opportunistic."
 
No kidding. If that's IV tubing that's in the photo then he practically put in his own central line. (unless he already had a port? but then again the ME would have noted this - sounds like he rigged it up himself).

Being able to construct an "elaborate IV device" coupled with access to sodium thiopental sure points to a background in anesthesia/surgery.

I wonder what was in the suicide note?
 
annemc2 said:
No kidding. If that's IV tubing that's in the photo then he practically put in his own central line. (unless he already had a port? but then again the ME would have noted this - sounds like he rigged it up himself).

Being able to construct an "elaborate IV device" coupled with access to sodium thiopental sure points to a background in anesthesia/surgery.

I wonder what was in the suicide note?
Click to expand...

Wow, good eye!!!! I can't even find the tubing. :X I wonder if it would've been mentioned in that book that has been suggested in the 1996 suicide of Annandale Jane Doe -- the final exit was it called??
 
Housekeeping at the Colonial Motel Inn discovered the decedent lying in a supine position in the bathtub with his head resting on a pillow. There were two intravenous solutions hanging from the shower rod attached to an IV in the decedent's right arm. He had injected himself with LR and Thiopental.

He checked in with a Bronx, New York address that did not check out. His luggage tag had the name Carlos F. Otero, which also did not check out.

A suicide note dated 8/11/1999 was left for his family although there are no references to the names of his family members. The note is on file with the Washoe County Medical Examiner's Office.



http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2060umnv.html


Some sources say that he must have had someone there helping him with the IV. I don't think he necessarily did. All he would have to do is take the vial of thiopental (powdered form) and add water (he probably did not care if he was using a sterile preparation at this point). Add the entire vial into the bag of Lactated Ringer's, hang it from the shower rod, insert needle, and let the whole thing infuse. But it looks like he had two bags going? Hmmm...
 
I wonder if there's indication about what hand he favored, maybe using the note if it was handwritten. The IV was in his right arm which, to me, would indicate left handedness. I am pathetically right handed (as in, my left hand is only there for looks), so maybe others would have an easier time starting an IV with their non-dominant hand, but for me it would be a bloody mess. If he was left-handed, that could rule in and out certain people. If he was right handed, it could point to assistance with his suicide.
 
I think there’s some potential in Johnny Lee Baker, missing from Borger, TX in 1994.

Baker has a very similar mustache, hair texture and color, and eye color. He was also a prominent pharmacist when he went missing.

Baker is reported, however, as several inches taller and about 50 lbs. heavier than this John Doe.
 
canteloupe said:
I think there’s some potential in Johnny Lee Baker, missing from Borger, TX in 1994.

Baker has a very similar mustache, hair texture and color, and eye color. He was also a prominent pharmacist when he went missing.

Baker is reported, however, as several inches taller and about 50 lbs. heavier than this John Doe.
Click to expand...
Theoretically this seems like a good match. They even resemble one another. For me, I see a big difference in their ears. Sounds odd I know but Johnny’s are rather distinctive. They’re fairly large and he had very small lobes, whereas the UID’s are large. I may be imagining things though. :D I wish there was a better photo, because at first glance the UID looks Hispanic to me.
 
MadMcGoo said:
Theoretically this seems like a good match. They even resemble one another. For me, I see a big difference in their ears. Sounds odd I know but Johnny’s are rather distinctive. They’re fairly large and he had very small lobes, whereas the UID’s are large. I may be imagining things though. :D I wish there was a better photo, because at first glance the UID looks Hispanic to me.
Click to expand...

I agree with you. I think he could easily be Cuban or Dominican. On the other hand, he looks just like one of my Greek neighbors when I lived in Queens.
 
Date of Discovery: August 14, 1999
Location of Discovery: Reno, Washoe County, Nevada

Estimated Date of Death: Hours prior
State of Remains: Recognizable face

Cause of Death: Suicide by Thiopental overdose

Physical Description​

Estimated Age: 45-65 years old
Race: White
Sex: Male
Height: 5'4" to 5'5"
Weight: 137 lbs.

Hair: Dyed brown with gray roots,
curly and 2 inches in length
with a brown and gray mustache
3/4 inch in length.


Eye Color: Blue
Distinguishing Marks/Features: 9-inch vertical scar on his stomach.

Identifiers​

Dentals: Available. Upper, partial dentures.
Fingerprints: Available.
DNA: Sample available - Not yet submitted

Clothing & Personal Items​

Clothing:
Brown short sleeve pajama top,
red plaid boxers,
and brown socks.
Jewelry: Unknown.

Additional Personal Items: Glasses.

 
This case drives me *crazy*. He could have come from anywhere but I think there's a 99% chance he had a background in anesthesia/ICU/operating room work. Suicide attempts with thiopental (which is no longer manufactured due to death penalty controversy) are so rare that they are written up as case reports in medical literature. And there aren't very many of them. Here's one example SUICIDE OF A HEALTHCARE WORKER: IV SELF-INJECTION OF SODIUM PENTOTHAL | Gazi Medical Journal
 
annemc2 said:
This case drives me *crazy*. He could have come from anywhere but I think there's a 99% chance he had a background in anesthesia/ICU/operating room work. Suicide attempts with thiopental (which is no longer manufactured due to death penalty controversy) are so rare that they are written up as case reports in medical literature. And there aren't very many of them. Here's one example SUICIDE OF A HEALTHCARE WORKER: IV SELF-INJECTION OF SODIUM PENTOTHAL | Gazi Medical Journal
Click to expand...

Absolutely, it seems he has some sort of medical background. The combination of drugs is interesting too, I have no idea how a common person would have gotten easy access to either. If he came in from out of town, I wonder if he brought it with him? What an odd case.
 
I can't find the photos of the "elaborate IV device" - like I can't get NAMUS to load? Anyway, yeah the more you look into it the weirder it gets. He absolutely knew more than your average bear, especially since he couldn't just look this stuff up online like we can now. He infused the bag instead of just administering the medication directly because it's so short-acting. If he had just injected the straight medication it would have been unpleasant and worn off relatively quickly. It's such an odd choice. Maybe it was the most lethal thing he had access to? Pyxis machines were definitely in use by 1999 so maybe the "good stuff" was more tightly controlled than the thiopental?

Pentothal (Thiopental Sodium for Injection, USP) is an ultrashort-acting depressant of the central nervous system which induces hypnosis and anesthesia, but not analgesia. It produces hypnosis within 30 to 40 seconds of intravenous injection. Recovery after a small dose is rapid, with some somnolence and retrograde amnesia. Repeated intravenous doses lead to prolonged anesthesia because fatty tissues act as a reservoir; they accumulate Pentothal (thiopental sodium) in concentrations 6 to 12 times greater than the plasma concentration, and then release the drug slowly to cause prolonged anesthesia.

BBM, source Pentothal (Thiopental Sodium): Uses, Dosage, Side Effects, Interactions, Warning
 
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