NV NV - Michelle Hatchel, 24, Las Vegas, 29 Aug 2007

JaneInOz

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I found this yesterday whilst looking at some other things..

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3713459&page=1

Michelle Hatchel was just 24 years old... Her family want to know why she was murdered

The 911 call is weird to me, and whilst the operator goes to speak to some other medical person you can clearly hear the *boyfriend* saying "What did you do" over the dial tone...

He then says no shes cold, no she won't wake up

Here is the link to it http://a.media.abcnews.com/audio/071003_911call.mp3#Vegas 911

The family of a 24-year-old Denver woman who flew to Las Vegas in August to spend time with a prominent hotel chain CEO and ended up dead from a mysterious drug overdose is demanding answers about what happened.


The woman, Michelle Hatchel, called and text-messaged friends to say she was scared and hiding in a closet after the man's angry ex-girlfriend showed up, her family says.

"She told them she was afraid,'' her grandmother, Helen Barker, told ABC News. By night, she was dead.


And then this part is odd (snipped)

Police who arrived at the scene reportedly found pills and powder near her body, and initially thought Hatchel had committed suicide, according to a police spokesman, who said detectives on the scene eventually decided to turn the case over to the county coroner. But no police report or incident report was ever filed and no investigation undertaken, according to Las Vegas Metro Police spokesman Jose Montoya.

The coroner who examined the body declared Hatchel dead at 10 p.m. Aug. 30 but didn't list an estimated time of death on her report, Hatchel's family said, making it difficult for her family to retrace her final steps.

Read some of the comments...

its very disturbing :(

IM just wondering why this case has been left and there isnt much media about it and its not on WS either...

Its very sad she was a very pretty girl and certainly not suicidal by what i read, but how does one get someone to take all those pills voluntarily ? :(
 
He could have been "talking" to her when he said "what did you do", attempting to imply that she did something to herself. Rigor Mortis sets in anywhere from two to four hours after death, varying slightly with temperature, age, body condition, etc. Complete rigor sets in around six to eight hours and lasts anywhere from 24 to 84 hours. He decribes her as "stiff" (you can hear her body thump on the ground when he moves her from the bed to the floor) and that she is "funny colors", which means livor mortis (lividity) which sets in relatively quickly and is most pronounced at around 8 hours and she is "cold". This means she has been dead more than 8 hours. He is clearly reluctant to perform CPR as he is being instructed. He states that she is dead and also that "he thinks she's dead". He doesn't check for breathing or a pulse, which also indicates he is aware she is dead. He is also using her cell phone to call 911 as evidenced by the fact that he doesn't know the number (and he makes some lame *advertiser censored* remark about he "rented" it. so what? you still know your own cell phone number).

Short and sweet of it: she has been dead anywhere from 8 to 36 hours by the time he calls 911. She last reached her family at 3 am where she was scared and hiding. He claims he left at 9 am, which can be substantiated I am sure. I think it's a safe bet to assume she was dead by then.

If she was forced to take drugs, the autopsy might show it (injuries to her throat, bruising, etc).

It kinda sounds to me like the LVPD handed the case over to the ME who made the determination that death was by overdose. Whether or not he found it suspicious, I'd have to see his final report to see what he said. If he ruled the death "by overdose" and did not mention suspicious, then the case is closed and there is no reason for LE to do anything. Unless the family can come up with some definitive proof, I am afraid this case will remain closed.
 
Thanks for that input Anubis.
That sucks then doesnt it. Its obvious that it wasnt a suicide :( well from what I have read and the parents think that way too.
Maybe she was threatend that they would kill someone she loved if she didnt swallow the pills ?
Was it pills that killed her ? or needles ?
 
It appears that the family went the route of civil lawsuits and made a private settlement. Sad story all the way around.

The lawsuit said Hatchel had been traumatized by the deaths of friends in the Columbine High School massacre in 1999 and Scheetz capitalized on her emotional troubles to induce her into drug use and sexual activity. Hatchel was a resident of Colorado, where she had met Scheetz at a Denver nightclub in 2005 and had a relationship with him, the suit said.
It said a wrongful death suit filed against Scheetz by Hatchel's father has already been settled for a substantial sum by Scheetz "and/or other named defendants."

https://lasvegassun.com/news/2010/jan/25/settlement-reached-overdose-death-former-hard-rock/
 

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