The Aftermath
After Amber's passing I marked time by the date of her death. I would think if this autopsy would just come back and the police did what they said and arrested the person responsible that it would ease my mind and give me peace. As Amber's birth date (Nov. 14th) approached I thought how fitting it would be if the report would be back this day. But it wasn't. The report didn't come til December, I took it out of the mailbox the day after my birthday (December 11th). It could have been there on my birthday, I am not sure. Everyone talks about your loved one's sending you a sign from Heaven, I took this as a sign. My hopes were once again lifted to believe that finally the responsible parties for my daughters death would be brought to justice. I cried,,, and my hands shook as I opened the report. My chance of peace all come down to the contents of this paper. Just a reminder, never let your peace of mind, happiness or livelihood depend on someone else. Once again I want to remind you that all contents in these post are my own truth, as I see it. I am not by no means in the criminal field, nor the medical, so all of this comes from my own perspective and is right and true as I see it. Any perceived accusations are my own and the questions I pose here are mine, for my own understanding. It has taken me a while to come back and update this, not because I had forgotten, nor because it didn't matter, but because it brings much pain.
The Autopsy:
Lets begin with the cause of death, which is a drug (hydrocodone) toxicity.
When admitted to Rutherford Hospital Amber was in an obtunded state (mentally out of it, almost comatose) Blood test revealed hydrocodone, alprazolam and diazepam. None of which Amber had prescriptions for.
On her person she had some flu medication, afrin spray and 5 beige pills with a "5" on one side. Amber suffered a 10 minute period of PEA (Pulseless electrical activity) arrest. Pulseless electrical activity or PEA (also known by the older term electromechanical dissociation) refers to a clinical diagnosis of cardiac arrest in which a heart rhythm is observed on the electrocardiogram that should be producing a pulse, but is not. Under normal circumstances, electrical activation of muscle cells precedes mechanical contraction of the heart (known as electromechanical coupling). In PEA, there is electrical activity, but the heart either does not contract or there are other reasons why this results in an insufficient cardiac output to generate a pulse and supply blood to the organs.
Shortly following this she was transferred to Missions Hospital in Asheville. Upon arriving at missions she tested positive for opiates, amphetamines (positive because of the cold medications), benzodiazipines and cannaboid. and she was diagnosed as having a hypoxic brain injury. Hypoxic brain injury is caused by a reduction in oxygen supply to the brain.
Along with Amber's blood and urine samples there was other evidence collected and sent to the medical examiners office
A can containing white powder, those beige pills, a plastic baggie corner, and some white powder.
The can had acetaminophen on it, the beige pills were never identified, the baggie corner had nothing listed and the white powder again was hydrocodone.
The Meeting with Detectives and the Incoming DA Ted Bell
Around the 18th of December in 2014, Detective Weeks, Detective Lovelace and the incoming DA Ted Bell were kind enough to sit down with me and shed some light on where the investigation was going and their findings.
In a nut shell with the second autopsy report (that's right there were two, I may have forgot to include that on the first one the powder on the can was hydrocodone, the second it was acetaminophen, big difference) stating that it was acetaminophen on the can they could not arrest the person who they know sold Amber the last drugs, had it in fact been hydrocodone he would have been arrested and charged with murder. The last person that sold to Amber was William Cash, Shane horn took her to get what she thought was crack and she tried to smoke it on the can that was introduced for testing. Let me interject here that Shane retrieved this can from the trash for the police. My question is why didn't the police get it their self and see what else was in that trash. The police also know that Amber had spent the day with Angel Bledsoe and Dusty Neely, getting pain pills which they all used. They also know that Amber had no money, nor Angel and Dusty was the only one with a job. Hmmmm still no arests there either. Let's get back quickly to that last drug purchase, they have text where Amber asked for the drugs, where he said yes and the admittance of Shane that he took her to get them, he does deny that he used anything with her though. They also have a text from Amber back to Cash saying that the stuff was bad to call her asap. In other words Amber knew what she got was not what she went looking for, but still no arrest, why you say, well that was my question too. All along I had been told that Facebook and phone text were admissible in court, but Mr. Bell said that he felt that since Amber had passed that they would be useless because the other parties could say that they were only joking. Now I don't understand how you joking when you have some one come to you to purchase a drug, and they still had Shane to validate that he took her. There are so many messages on face book and her phone of her looking for drugs and wanting specifically pain pills. I have seen them, I know who the people are and the police do too as they had free reign of her Facebook and phone. The detective told me that he didn't even know what a lethal dose of hydrocodone was, well I don't either, maybe the medical examiner could have answered this for him. Because my daughter also had a long history of drug use they felt this was not a case they could win, along with the facts that Angel and Dusty were both lying about their involvement but the police could not prove it. Although the white powder they collected came from a table in shanes home and did contain hydrocodone, they didnt know how long it had been there. I feel like there was just a lot of things that were not done right while investigating this case and I still don't understand why the acting DA was not there as Mr. Bell could not file charges in December as he had not yet took office. Maybe this was just a courtesy to me I don't know. All I know is I have two conflicting autopsy reports, and a lot of still unanswered questions. I was able to retrieve Ambers phone from the police, it took two attempts for them to get the right phone from the evidence room. Up until this time I had complete confidence in the police and that they right thing would be done,,,,it wasn't.
Do I have anger and hostility for these people, yes I do, I even hold some anger for my daughter. Will I ever get over it, no probably not, but hopefully and I am trying I will be able to put it in a healthier light. These friends, these acquaintances, whatever you want to call them killed my daughter as surely as if they had put a gun to her head and pulled the trigger. Do I think my daughter was in anyway responsible, well of course I do, we are all responsible for our choices and our actions, but all I know is that what ever wrong my daughter did, she has paid for it, paid with her life, her children are paying for it, they no longer have their mother, her brother is paying for it, he no longer has his sister and her father and I am paying for it, we lost our child. Yes, I would say Amber has paid in full for her wrong doing, so I think that all involved should pay for theirs through the court system. Hopefully one day this will happen as the police told me that in murder charges that there is no statue of limitations and they can always come back later and file charges, should new evidence present it self.
Honestly, and I do hope that I am wrong, but I feel that because of my daughter's lifestyle and despite the large notebook and cd's of evidence that the police have that a great injustice was done to her. From having to have two autopsy reports completed to what I see as some questionable police investigating and interpretation of the law. I am also convinced that had this been a person who had no prior drug use that the outcome would be different and someone or a few someones would be behind bars.
I hope to keep this updated as much as I can, putting things into words helps in a lot of ways, but it also hurts some too, people are still dying everyday from overdoses, people are still selling drugs, and I don't see no end in sight. Until communities unite and take action, new laws, reporting to the police, rallies, eduction, just simply bringing it to light, it is not going to get any better. There is power in numbers, not to mention what brain storming resolutions could be found. Everyone just needs to wake up because one day it may be your child who is just another overdose.
After Amber's passing I marked time by the date of her death. I would think if this autopsy would just come back and the police did what they said and arrested the person responsible that it would ease my mind and give me peace. As Amber's birth date (Nov. 14th) approached I thought how fitting it would be if the report would be back this day. But it wasn't. The report didn't come til December, I took it out of the mailbox the day after my birthday (December 11th). It could have been there on my birthday, I am not sure. Everyone talks about your loved one's sending you a sign from Heaven, I took this as a sign. My hopes were once again lifted to believe that finally the responsible parties for my daughters death would be brought to justice. I cried,,, and my hands shook as I opened the report. My chance of peace all come down to the contents of this paper. Just a reminder, never let your peace of mind, happiness or livelihood depend on someone else. Once again I want to remind you that all contents in these post are my own truth, as I see it. I am not by no means in the criminal field, nor the medical, so all of this comes from my own perspective and is right and true as I see it. Any perceived accusations are my own and the questions I pose here are mine, for my own understanding. It has taken me a while to come back and update this, not because I had forgotten, nor because it didn't matter, but because it brings much pain.
The Autopsy:
Lets begin with the cause of death, which is a drug (hydrocodone) toxicity.
When admitted to Rutherford Hospital Amber was in an obtunded state (mentally out of it, almost comatose) Blood test revealed hydrocodone, alprazolam and diazepam. None of which Amber had prescriptions for.
On her person she had some flu medication, afrin spray and 5 beige pills with a "5" on one side. Amber suffered a 10 minute period of PEA (Pulseless electrical activity) arrest. Pulseless electrical activity or PEA (also known by the older term electromechanical dissociation) refers to a clinical diagnosis of cardiac arrest in which a heart rhythm is observed on the electrocardiogram that should be producing a pulse, but is not. Under normal circumstances, electrical activation of muscle cells precedes mechanical contraction of the heart (known as electromechanical coupling). In PEA, there is electrical activity, but the heart either does not contract or there are other reasons why this results in an insufficient cardiac output to generate a pulse and supply blood to the organs.
Shortly following this she was transferred to Missions Hospital in Asheville. Upon arriving at missions she tested positive for opiates, amphetamines (positive because of the cold medications), benzodiazipines and cannaboid. and she was diagnosed as having a hypoxic brain injury. Hypoxic brain injury is caused by a reduction in oxygen supply to the brain.
Along with Amber's blood and urine samples there was other evidence collected and sent to the medical examiners office
A can containing white powder, those beige pills, a plastic baggie corner, and some white powder.
The can had acetaminophen on it, the beige pills were never identified, the baggie corner had nothing listed and the white powder again was hydrocodone.
The Meeting with Detectives and the Incoming DA Ted Bell
Around the 18th of December in 2014, Detective Weeks, Detective Lovelace and the incoming DA Ted Bell were kind enough to sit down with me and shed some light on where the investigation was going and their findings.
In a nut shell with the second autopsy report (that's right there were two, I may have forgot to include that on the first one the powder on the can was hydrocodone, the second it was acetaminophen, big difference) stating that it was acetaminophen on the can they could not arrest the person who they know sold Amber the last drugs, had it in fact been hydrocodone he would have been arrested and charged with murder. The last person that sold to Amber was William Cash, Shane horn took her to get what she thought was crack and she tried to smoke it on the can that was introduced for testing. Let me interject here that Shane retrieved this can from the trash for the police. My question is why didn't the police get it their self and see what else was in that trash. The police also know that Amber had spent the day with Angel Bledsoe and Dusty Neely, getting pain pills which they all used. They also know that Amber had no money, nor Angel and Dusty was the only one with a job. Hmmmm still no arests there either. Let's get back quickly to that last drug purchase, they have text where Amber asked for the drugs, where he said yes and the admittance of Shane that he took her to get them, he does deny that he used anything with her though. They also have a text from Amber back to Cash saying that the stuff was bad to call her asap. In other words Amber knew what she got was not what she went looking for, but still no arrest, why you say, well that was my question too. All along I had been told that Facebook and phone text were admissible in court, but Mr. Bell said that he felt that since Amber had passed that they would be useless because the other parties could say that they were only joking. Now I don't understand how you joking when you have some one come to you to purchase a drug, and they still had Shane to validate that he took her. There are so many messages on face book and her phone of her looking for drugs and wanting specifically pain pills. I have seen them, I know who the people are and the police do too as they had free reign of her Facebook and phone. The detective told me that he didn't even know what a lethal dose of hydrocodone was, well I don't either, maybe the medical examiner could have answered this for him. Because my daughter also had a long history of drug use they felt this was not a case they could win, along with the facts that Angel and Dusty were both lying about their involvement but the police could not prove it. Although the white powder they collected came from a table in shanes home and did contain hydrocodone, they didnt know how long it had been there. I feel like there was just a lot of things that were not done right while investigating this case and I still don't understand why the acting DA was not there as Mr. Bell could not file charges in December as he had not yet took office. Maybe this was just a courtesy to me I don't know. All I know is I have two conflicting autopsy reports, and a lot of still unanswered questions. I was able to retrieve Ambers phone from the police, it took two attempts for them to get the right phone from the evidence room. Up until this time I had complete confidence in the police and that they right thing would be done,,,,it wasn't.
Do I have anger and hostility for these people, yes I do, I even hold some anger for my daughter. Will I ever get over it, no probably not, but hopefully and I am trying I will be able to put it in a healthier light. These friends, these acquaintances, whatever you want to call them killed my daughter as surely as if they had put a gun to her head and pulled the trigger. Do I think my daughter was in anyway responsible, well of course I do, we are all responsible for our choices and our actions, but all I know is that what ever wrong my daughter did, she has paid for it, paid with her life, her children are paying for it, they no longer have their mother, her brother is paying for it, he no longer has his sister and her father and I am paying for it, we lost our child. Yes, I would say Amber has paid in full for her wrong doing, so I think that all involved should pay for theirs through the court system. Hopefully one day this will happen as the police told me that in murder charges that there is no statue of limitations and they can always come back later and file charges, should new evidence present it self.
Honestly, and I do hope that I am wrong, but I feel that because of my daughter's lifestyle and despite the large notebook and cd's of evidence that the police have that a great injustice was done to her. From having to have two autopsy reports completed to what I see as some questionable police investigating and interpretation of the law. I am also convinced that had this been a person who had no prior drug use that the outcome would be different and someone or a few someones would be behind bars.
I hope to keep this updated as much as I can, putting things into words helps in a lot of ways, but it also hurts some too, people are still dying everyday from overdoses, people are still selling drugs, and I don't see no end in sight. Until communities unite and take action, new laws, reporting to the police, rallies, eduction, just simply bringing it to light, it is not going to get any better. There is power in numbers, not to mention what brain storming resolutions could be found. Everyone just needs to wake up because one day it may be your child who is just another overdose.