First of all, I wasn't at the epicenter of anybody's horrible death. I lived in the neighborhood where a hooker came to visit a John, and for some reason or another would not leave when she was asked to, that led to the John and her driver getting frustrated. When she finally left the john's home, she refused help from her driver and bizarrely a few neighbors who she had asked for help, then to escape something real or imagined entered a marshy area where she died from exposure to the elements because of her body's rundown energy level.
What you say could be plausible until you find out her hyoid is broken. I find it interesting that her medical history is always brought up by LE at the beginning of almost every statement they had made. I had thought that HIPAA laws prevented this. Especially where law enforcement is concerned, the agency must apply for the information, so who applied for it? How did they get it? When it comes to mental health the rules are even more stringent. So how did LE get her medical history to start blurting out to the public? First they say she is on "drugs" then say she is bi-polar. DUH, aren't most people who are bi-polar on a medication routine because they are low on lithium? How is what they are saying any different than saying a person was on "drugs" (anti-depressants) and they had clinical depression. Which then leads me to the question how did they know she was on unprescribed drugs? Because her "boyfriend" AD said she was? Ok, that sounds legit. I must be taking crazy pills myself because the whole scenario is sketchy. How does the police even know AD was her boyfriend? How do they know she lived with him? They appear to know every little detail of her life except how she died accidentally with a broken hyoid bone. Wow. Those detectives needed to be replaced since day one since they obviously cannot find their way out of a burlap sack. And why did the FBI back off the case? Feds trump State, especially if they believe the same guy is doing this in multiple states, right? Is that why they started saying that the new jersey deaths at the golden key motel was not related? Because if they were, the Feds can't be told by the state to hold off investigating, the killer has crossed state lines. About the hipaa law and law enforcement: LAW ENFORCEMENT ACCESS
TO PATIENTS AND PATIENT INFORMATION:
Patient information means all information about the patient, including name, medical record number, condition, sex, age, physician name, diagnosis, medical unit, and other treatment information ("PHI"). The fact that a patient is in the medical center is PHI.
Procedures
City, State or Federal Law Enforcement may seek access to a patient or access to patient information. Before providing access, follow these steps:
1. Verify the Identity of the Police Officer.
If law enforcement appears in person, verify the officer's name, badge number or other agency identification, credentials or proof of government status.
If you receive a request from a law enforcement officer or agency in writing, verify that the request is on the appropriate letterhead.
2. Identify What Law Enforcement Wants and the Purpose For the Request.
Identify the reason that the police officer is requesting the information.
3. Provide Access Only as Follows -- and Only Provide the
Minimum Amount of Information Necessary for the Purpose.
Access to Patients
General Statement:
Physician approval: Access to the patient is subject to the physician's opinion that such access would not impede the patient's care.
Patient approval: Upon physician approval, a healthcare provider will ask the patient whether he/she wants to speak to the police. The patient is not required to speak to police, and UCMC will respect the patient's wishes. This applies even if the patient is an alleged perpetrator of a crime.
Note: Mental health, HIV/AIDS, and genetic information may not be disclosed without the written consent of the patient or his/her legal representative.
(Hipaa law is Federal law so the same rules apply to all states): link to the hippa privacy rules concerning law enforcement:
http://hipaa.bsd.uchicago.edu/law_enforce.html
