Friday, February 10, 2012
 
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Coroner's jury decides Lincoln College student's death accidental

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[February 10, 2012]  On Oct 18, 2011, the Logan County Paramedic Association responded to a call at Lincoln College for a student found unconscious in his room. When paramedics arrived, a friend of 21-year-old Brett J. Malmquist was trying to resuscitate him.

HardwareMalmquist was transported to Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital, where the attending emergency room doctor pronounced Malmquist's death at 1:41 p.m.

On Thursday evening this week, Logan County Coroner Robert Thomas conducted an inquest into the student's death.

Malmquist's father and aunt were in attendance, as well as several administrative staff members from Lincoln College.

Thomas instructed a jury of six and one alternate that they would be presented pertinent information concerning the victim's death in order for them to arrive at the cause and manner of death.

Information given to the jurors would be based on facts to assist them in this part of their decision. They were provided the circumstances, medical evidence, toxicology and autopsy results, and were encouraged to ask questions.

Thomas explained that the cause of death is either by a disease or injury. The "cause" is what is responsible for the fatality.

Jurors would also need to determine the manner of death, or how the death took place.

The manner of death falls into five categories:

  • Natural death is by disease or natural cause.

  • Accidental death is from circumstances not intentionally caused by the deceased or by another person.

  • Homicide is a death resulting by circumstances intentionally caused by another person to the deceased.

  • Suicide is when death results from circumstances intentionally caused by the deceased.

  • Undetermined death can be ruled when none of the above can be established with reasonable certainty.

Thomas called forward two people involved in the investigation. First was Deputy Coroner Doug Brooks.

Brooks said he was not called to the scene at the time. He handled paperwork duties, including reviewing the postmortem examination.

Board-certified pathologist Dr. John W. Ralston conducted an autopsy on Oct. 19, 2011, at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield.

Brooks said that he made several calls to Dr. Ralston and his attendant to clarify information in the report.

Toxicology studies reflected:

  • Blood ethanol, or blood alcohol level: 0.128

  • Urine ethanol: 0.286 alcohol

  • Vitreous (eye fluid) ethanol: 0.169 alcohol

For comparison, the legal blood alcohol limit for driving in Illinois is .08. Malmquist's alcohol levels exceeded safe alcohol limits by multiples in all of the tests.

Also, a drug blood screen of the victim's blood was conducted. Those results showed free morphine, dyphenhydramine (Benadryl) and dymenthahydramate (Dramamine) in his system.

Found in the urine drug test screen were a marijuana metabolite, opiate metabolites, morphine, codeine, 6-Monoacetylmorphine (6-MAM), dyphenhydramine, nicotine and nicotine metabolites.

Free morphine was at 82 nanograms per milliliter, which is slightly above therapeutic level, but not at a toxic level.

Benadryl and Dramamine were also above therapeutic levels, but not at toxic levels.

Specific measurements were provided for Delta 9-Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, a marijuana metabolite; the opium metabolites; codeine; and a heroin-specific metabolite.

"Because none of these were at a toxic level," Brooks said he asked the pathologist about it. It was the pathologist's opinion "that a combination of those drugs, added to the alcohol in his system, was critical to the death of this individual. It was the combination of those drugs, and in particular with alcohol."

Concerning the physical examination, Ralston concluded that death was caused by pulmonary congestion and severe edema with foam in the airway.

Ralston said that Malmquist's brain shut down due to the combination of the drugs and alcohol in his system. The congestion and edema were a symptom of the brain shutting down, causing fluid to collect in his airway.

It was also found that the left ventricle of the heart was enlarged.

There was a small amount of particulate matter in the stomach.

Other observations about the victim's body were that he had multiple superficial abrasions and contusions that were healing. There was no evidence of recent trauma.

In conclusion, based on toxicology and physical examination, Dr. Ralston's opinion was that the cause of death was opiate, alcohol and diphenhydramine intoxication.

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Jurors asked about what the particulate in the stomach was, the victim's size, if the injuries could have been caused during resuscitation or otherwise on that day, and if he had a pulse when found.

Brooks said Ralston explained that the particulate was undissolved fragments of a pill or pills that were not digested. The victim weighed 170 pounds and was 73 inches in length. The contusions would not have been caused that day; they were healing.

It was not known if there was a pulse when he was found. Malmquist's airway was clogged, and he was not able to breathe. He was transported from his room to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Detective Paul Adams of the Lincoln Police Department was called to give testimony, though he was limited in what he could say.

Liquor and packaging for heroin use were present in the room. The evidence was turned over the Logan County state's attorney's office. A criminal investigation began in regard to the heroin found in the victim's system.

Adams said that witness statements were taken and a full investigation was conducted that is ongoing.

As part of the investigation, it was learned that the victim was in Missouri over the weekend. While he was there, he was in a fight on Friday night and taken to the hospital. It was said that he had alcohol in his system then, but he left the hospital before seeing any doctor.

Paramedics were called and arrived at the victim's dormitory room on the following Tuesday afternoon. When paramedics arrived, a friend was trying to resuscitate Malmquist.

The jurors adjourned to discuss the case. Six jurors met together, with one alternate remaining outside the discussion on standby.

Library

Return of a verdict

After about 45 minutes of deliberation, the jurors returned with a statement. Their decision was that they found the cause of Malmquist's death to be opiate, alcohol and diphenhydramine intoxication, which was the result of substance abuse; and the manner of his death was found to be accidental.

Since the death was ruled accidental, the stipulation was added that it would have been avoidable if the deceased had avoided using alcohol and drugs.

[By JAN YOUNGQUIST]

Following the inquest, Lincoln College released the following statement:

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We'd prefer that Brett's time at Lincoln College is remembered by how he lived while he was here, not by how he died. During Brett's memorial service, many of his peers spoke of him as kind-hearted, open-minded, hard-working and humorous. Considering Brett was only here for a short time, it is quite a feat to leave such a glowing, positive impression amongst his peers.

Lincoln College would like to reiterate our cooperation with authorities in the investigation into Brett's death. We have worked very closely with the Lincoln Police Department and the Logan County Coroner's office in recent months in this matter and will continue to assist as needed. We've found the investigation to be thorough and professional at all levels.

Like most other colleges and universities, Lincoln College has dedicated resources to educating students about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse, through programming in our residence halls and in discussions in our class rooms.

Also like other colleges and universities, we have strict policies against the use of drugs and alcohol on our campus. We will continue to be pro-active in drug and alcohol abuse prevention.

In conclusion, we hope that the results of the inquest, while tragic, can help our campus take the next step in the grieving process. As our students, faculty and staff pursue a sense of closure, we continue to keep Brett's family and friends in our thoughts and prayers going forward.

___

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