Found Deceased CA - Erin Valenti, 33, from Utah, en-route from Palo Alto to San Jose, 7 Oct 2019 #2

[MJPeony]

Benzodiazepines (Valium, Ativan, Xanax, etc) are often prescribed for occasional acute anxiety- such as before a flight or sleep issues. And can cause heart failure/respiration failure if taken in too high a dosage or mixed with certain other substances (opioids, for example, and even plain ol’ alcohol).

Just a couple of the many places to read about them (on phone right now so no time to provide better or more in-depth articles):
Risks & Symptoms of Xanax, Valium & Klonopin Overdose

Benzodiazepines: our other prescription drug epidemic - STAT
‘“Benzos” is shorthand for benzodiazepines, a class of drugs often used to treat anxiety and insomnia. The dozen or so different types include Ativan, Klonopin, Valium, and Xanax. Most people have heard of them. More people than you might think are taking them”

Yes, Benzos Are Bad for You (I don’t like this title FYI. I think it’s possible for them to be taken safely. And it’s not really the point of what I’m saying. But there is good info in this article):

“Benzos harm in three ways – most dramatic dangers are deadly overdoses. Between 1996 and 2013, the death rate from benzo overdoses exploded by more than 500 percent, from 0.58 per 100,000 people to 3 per 100,000. Benzos are now involved in more than 30 per cent of all overdose deaths, usually in combination with opioids or alcohol.”

I personally don’t see EV as a hardcore or frequent recreational drug user (IMO, MOO). However, it would not be unusual for her to have access or an rx for benzos. Which could have been what ultimately killed her. Either accidentally or intentionally. In either or any case, it is my belief she had been unhappy for a while.

Ok, I’ll stop mentioning the benzo possibility now lest I become annoying . Although maybe I have already become annoying Truth is, we can only speculate based on the info we know to be true. Our own best guesses/theories based on that. We all want answers, but of course we may never get them. I sure hope her family finds the answers they need and can make peace with it all eventually.

 

[Podengo]

Molly can cause you to overheat, but usually only if you are being active and not staying hydrated.

 

[Seattle1]

A request was posted on EV's personal FB page how her family would like her to be honored.

It's the launch of the Erin Valenti Women in Entrepreneurship scholarship, which will support women at the University of Utah in perpetuity.

Please consider donating to this cause, which is something that Erin cared about deeply. Her family requests scholarship donations in lieu of flowers or gifts. Any amount is greatly appreciated and all donations are tax deductible

The link is available on her page.

#rest easy lady

 

[kittythehare]

I think they could definitely locate a bacterial cause at 5-7 post mortem. It's interesting you're thinking that way, because I'm reviewing a case involving a death via sepsis (and the person's demise was really rapid onset and it involved psychosis-like statements and hardly any complaints about pain, even though in theory, it should have been more painful). It's a case that a friend (who is both a psychiatrist and a pathologist) just wants to discuss. He's got theories about Substance P and he also wants to be able to figure out ways of detecting certain specific biochemical states in the brain without the person having to be dead (he thinks there are ways of using saliva, tears and also...oddly, smell tests...)

I bet they did the autopsy immediately, but of course it's possible there was refrigeration involved.

Temps up there were pretty warm (but not at night). She might have died during Tuesday, to my way of thinking.

That sepsis case you referenced sounds really really interested and I'm crazy curious to know the upshot. I'd love an update, if it is ever convenient, please?
Just considering 'there should have been pain' bit... wondering whether he was denying experiencing it because he lost his ability to communicate it or wanted to keep it secret? It's really very interesting... (off topic, sorry everybody)

 

[Rosiebones]

That sepsis case you referenced sounds really really Myhinterested and I'm crazy curious to know the upshot. I'd love an update, if it is ever convenient, please?
Just considering 'there should have been pain' bit... wondering whether he was denying experiencing it because he lost his ability to communMy huicate it or wanted to keep it secret? It's really very interesting... (off topic, sorry everybody)

My husband's sepsis had no fever, chills, shaking, or pain. It was a subtle onset over four days of confusion, disorientation and irritation and impatience when I asked him anything. He answered the doctor's questions as to what he had done last weekend, but his answers were a memory of an entirely different weekend. If I had not been there, the doctor would have thought he had answered correctly.
He had a Pseudomonas infection, which is very common. He was perilously close (within 24 hours) to a complete organ shutdown and death.
If he had not been taken to the hospital, I am sure he would have simply gone to sleep and died.

 

[MsFacetious]

Everyone could respond to an infection differently. So while one person may have pain, another may not. One person may be more drastically impacted by the confusion, another may not. That's one of the things that makes diagnosing people such a challenge... everyone reacts differently to everything.

The only thing I can think of is positional asphixiation, aspiration of vomit, or heart attack. Hyperthermia (heat syncope) is possible if the drug was meth. To be honest though, unless she re-dosed at some point most illicit drugs would no longer be affecting her after 6-10 hours, even LSD (for most people). I still feel this is a drug intoxication event but its more complicated that she" just took something one time" and died.

I can't think of many sadder ways to die... but the mention of aspiration of gastric contents made me think of Tyler Skaggs. That's exactly what happened to him. He didn't die of an overdose. He was intoxicated and choked to death on his own vomit.

Tyler Skaggs' autopsy: Fentanyl, oxycodone and alcohol led to death by choking on vomit

 

[happyday]

Everyone could respond to an infection differently. So while one person may have pain, another may not. One person may be more drastically impacted by the confusion, another may not. That's one of the things that makes diagnosing people such a challenge... everyone reacts differently to everything.



I can't think of many sadder ways to die... but the mention of aspiration of gastric contents made me think of Tyler Skaggs. That's exactly what happened to him. He didn't die of an overdose. He was intoxicated and choked to death on his own vomit.

Tyler Skaggs' autopsy: Fentanyl, oxycodone and alcohol led to death by choking on vomit

And Jimi Hendrix!

 

[Suglo]

And Jimi Hendrix!

And John Bonham from Led Zeppelin also So many choke on their vomit while intoxicated. I spent more than one night totally awake taking care of very intoxicated friends so this wouldn’t happen - back in high school/college days.

 

[10ofRods]

@MJPeony, I don't find your informative posts annoying at all.

I'd love to know more about Molly, @Podengo.

Thanks for the link, @Seattle1.

That sepsis case you referenced sounds really really interested and I'm crazy curious to know the upshot. I'd love an update, if it is ever convenient, please?
Just considering 'there should have been pain' bit... wondering whether he was denying experiencing it because he lost his ability to communicate it or wanted to keep it secret? It's really very interesting... (off topic, sorry everybody)

The patient was a psychiatric patient to start with, although his records show that he had had several different diagnoses over the years. I met the psychiatrist/pathologist years ago while researching "negative" symptoms of schizophrenia (which indeed can cause someone to be mute). Patient was on antipsychotic medication and living in a care home, where he was found dead. My colleague's goal is to publish something eventually about his brain findings. I think he wants to show eventually that 'negative' symptoms (including thought blocking and mutism) can be associated both with mental illness and with antipsychotic drugs. He thought I might be interested as this man had been homeless at one point and may be a so-called "walking schizophrenic," which both my colleague and I agree is a category of mental illness that needs lots of further study. We just can't figure out how to do it very well, before the patients are dead (and so this is an unusual case where circumstances led to an autopsy, and the treating psychiatrist asked my other colleague to take a look).

As I said, my colleague is interested in figuring out pre-mortem ways of diagnosing this (since the patients with this condition are decidedly non-communicative, as are many psychiatric patients with severe disorders).

IOW, this man was eventually rescued from being homeless, but ended up dying of sepsis.

 

[10ofRods]

Everyone could respond to an infection differently. So while one person may have pain, another may not. One person may be more drastically impacted by the confusion, another may not. That's one of the things that makes diagnosing people such a challenge... everyone reacts differently to everything.



snipped for focus

Very true. My colleague is interested in Substance P (the brain chemical that allows us to sense pain). Everyone is so different. People who are ready Substance P producers (low pain threshold) will be complaining to high heaven, while people with low or no Substance P literally don't experience pain. I know a lot of doctors think that's a central thing to know about someone, but AFAIK, right now, they need to do a spinal tap to figure that part out, which is both invasive and impractical. In theory, the body is still experiencing the pain-inducing problem, but the patient doesn't experience signals to alert them of that.

There are only 2 known people, apparently, who don't produce P at all:

The woman who feels no pain

 

[MsBetsy]

My husband's sepsis had no fever, chills, shaking, or pain. It was a subtle onset over four days of confusion, disorientation and irritation and impatience when I asked him anything. He answered the doctor's questions as to what he had done last weekend, but his answers were a memory of an entirely different weekend. If I had not been there, the doctor would have thought he had answered correctly.
He had a Pseudomonas infection, which is very common. He was perilously close (within 24 hours) to a complete organ shutdown and death.
If he had not been taken to the hospital, I am sure he would have simply gone to sleep and died.

I don't think the COD was sepsis because I would think an autopsy would reveal that right away. I don't see any reason why the family would not reveal that.
Toxicology tests can take 4-6 weeks for results so we still don't know if that's a factor.
We may never know.
At this point it seems like there was not foul play involved and her death may forever remain a mystery.

I do hope the family gets some answers so they are not forever wondering what happened.

Imo

 

[Trebor5591]

Forgive me if this has been covered before, but I can't recall that it has. Why was EV's body found in the back seat of the car rental? Did she go into the back seat to sleep? Why wouldn't she just go to a hotel? Are there possibly other reasons? Any thoughts?

 

[Trebor5591]

...After the fact, I believe many will see a similar pattern here as seen with others that succumb to taking their lives: this year EV attempted everything known to bring her much pleasure, and still was not uplifted. It was more a been there, done that , and she likely couldn't see herself rising above that dark cloud that was enveloping her. And knew in her heart that another Tech Award Ceremony also wasn't going to pull her over the hump.
I see the random neighborhood street, and rental car, as foreign environment to her -- things she had no attachment to, and therefore no distraction not to follow through with her plan.
Did EV know when she checked out of her hotel room at 2pm that she would not get on the plane and go home? Probably not. An idea maybe but not a certainty. And I don't think she'd ever capable of checking out without talking to her family-- one last time. Maybe she was looking to hear something she'd long to hear from them her entire life.
Maybe VE gave herself a chance by answering the phone, and decided against disclosing her location to LE. Maybe by midnight she was physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausted, and took the last, fatal dosage and went to sleep.
Or perhaps she chose the Valley as the place where all this (perceived chaos?) started for her, and wanted to end it there.
Rest easy Erin.

I just can not see a success-driven business woman, traveling on business, taking her own life--it makes no logical sense at all.

 

[MsBetsy]

Forgive me if this has been covered before, but I can't recall that it has. Why was EV's body found in the back seat of the car rental? Did she go into the back seat to sleep? Why wouldn't she just go to a hotel? Are there possibly other reasons? Any thoughts?

Yes, she was found in the back seat.
She had already checked out of the hotel and was on her way to the airport. She was driving around lost for about 7 or 8 hours.

Imo

 

[MsBetsy]

I just can not see a success-driven business woman, traveling on business, taking her own life--it makes no logical sense at all.

I can't imagine it either but it's not uncommon.

Just the other day a friend of my daughters took his own life and we are struggling to understand because he always seemed so happy and he came from a good family.

One of my neighbors committed suicide years ago and had just graduated from Stamford with a promising career ahead of her.

Many times there are just no warning signs and we are left wondering how and why the person would take their own lives.

We don't know if this is what happened but it's certainly possible.

Imo

 

[Seattle1]

I just can not see a success-driven business woman, traveling on business, taking her own life--it makes no logical sense at all.

I'm yet to read of any suicide that makes logical sense to me.

It also made no logical sense for a beautiful, driven, fashion designer with 2 young children (also in my post) to drown herself in a Lake last spring.

 

[155etta]

Yes, she was found in the back seat.
She had already checked out of the hotel and was on her way to the airport. She was driving around lost for about 7 or 8 hours.

Imo

She strikes me as the type, who if lost, would have no problem whatsoever stopping someplace and saying, "Hey, which way to the airport?"

 

[MsBetsy]

She strikes me as the type, who if lost, would have no problem whatsoever stopping someplace and saying, "Hey, which way to the airport?"

True, but she was definitely not functioning the way she normally did so in her confused, disoriented and manic state it does not surprise me that she didn't.
If she had been capable of that she probably would have done so in the first 30 minutes instead of rambling incoherently about being in the matrix.

Imo

 

[MimosaMornings]

I'm yet to read of any suicide that makes logical sense to me.

It also made no logical sense for a beautiful, driven, fashion designer with 2 young children (also in my post) to drown herself in a Lake last spring.

The beautiful lady from North Carolina.
Drowned in Lake Wylie.

 

[155etta]

True, but she was definitely not functioning the way she normally did so in her confused, disoriented and manic state it does not surprise me that she didn't.
If she had been capable of that she probably would have done so in the first 30 minutes instead of rambling incoherently about being in the matrix.

Imo

It's just so bizarre to me that she couldn't do that very thing, stop and ask for help, but COULD DRIVE a motor vehicle around for hours! What on earth could make her so disoriented but still able to operate a car? And a phone. She could still make phone calls. Just weird. And when the police did make contact via phone, why not say, "I'm lost. I can't find the airport, I'm low on fuel?" Or, "I'm not feeling right, I need help." It's like she did and didn't know she was in trouble. She made all those phone calls over the hours but didn't do the logical thing which would be to pull over and tell someone she needed help. Why?