Hi All,For ease of reading, I have typed in the pertinent sections from the Orange County Sheriff's reports on Peny's and Michaell's deaths. The complete scanned images of the reports can be found at the provided links.
*** PENY ***
The complete scanned images of the report can be found at: http://www.cosmicfool.com/lazaris/peny
On 05/09/2001, at 0335 hours, I responded to 10216 Penny Lane Drive in reference to a death investigation. Upon my arrival, I met with Lt. David Provau with Orange County Fire and Rescue #36 who stated that they received the call in reference to a woman with no vitals at 0303 hours this date. Provau stated they arrived at the front gate to the compound at 0312 hours and were met by Michaell North who said "No hurry. I'll go open up the gate for you", Provau stated.they entered the house and were led to the first floor master bathroom where the patient, Penny North, was sitting in a reclining wheel chair. Provau said she was unresponsive and she was an ashen color. He stated that his crew checked for signs of life but could not find any. At 0316 they confirmed death with electronic confirmation for "asystole". Provau stated that Michaell North told them he heard his wife "wheezing" at 0200 and called for another resident of the house to assist with CPR. Provau said North told them he did not call 911 immediately because his wife did not like doctors or hospitals and did not want to live in this world. Provau stated that North also advised his wife did not have any other known medical problems other than leg pains brought on by Cellulitis. North also told Provau that his wife was taking Codeine for the pain and did not have any allergies to medications.
Provau stated that the bathroom was very cluttered and there was a medium size bottle of carbon dioxide near Mrs. North. Provau advised there was not indication that CPR had been performed on Mrs. North and Michaell North was very calm and solemn. Provau stated no one else was in the bathroom when they arrived and Michaell North refused to leave his wife's side.
When I entered the bathroom, North was sitting beside his wife and holding her hand. His eyes were teary and he appeared to be very calm. I asked if anyone else had tried to help do CPR on his wife and he said Jennifer tried. He advised that Jennifer was in the master bedroom with other friends who had come to help. I left North at this time to talk to the other witnesses.
In the master bedroom, I met with Jennifer Page who stated she has been friends with the North's for about 20 years and lives in the house with them. She also advised that she is their assistant in business and housekeeper. Page stated she was called by Michaell North to come to the master bathroom because Peny wasn't breathing. She said North was very excited and talking very fast. Page said they performed CPR for about half an hour while she was sitting reclined in the wheel chair. Page said she could hear "gurgling in Peny's throat and chest and twice had fluids come out of her mouth. At this time they called another friend, Barbara Brannon, who lives in the compound, to assist with CPR. Page said she knew they would need help in dropping the back of the wheel chair down so they could perform CPR better on the floor. Page said Penny spit fluids twice more but was not conscious and still had no signs of breathing.
Page stated that she did not call 911 because Peny told her before that if anything happened, she did not want to end up in a hospital as a vegetable. Page said Peny was afraid of hospitals. Page also advised that she did not know what time she was called by North or what time they stopped CPR but it was before the fire department arrived. She said she was not aware of any other medical problems beside her legs and did not know if Peny had a doctor.
I then spoke to Barbara Brannon who stated she lives in the compound and was called a about 0230 hours to assist with lowering Penyy's wheel chair so Jennifer and Michaell could perform CPR. Brannon said that by the time she arrived, Peny was gone.
Michaell North was able to give me a statement after Homicide Detective Jeff Tramonte and Medical Examiner Jack Cuccia responded. North stated his wife Peny had been having bad pain in her legs for the past few days and was taking 8MG of Codeine every one and a half hours. He stated she started becoming weaker and her speech was slurred. North stated he would hand her the pills and she would put them in her mouth.
North stated his wife was all right at about midnight when he went to sleep on the air mattress he had placed on the bathroom floor. At some time between 0100 and 0200 hours this night, he woke up to give Peny her medicine and found that she was not breathing. North stated he called Jennifer Page and they performed CPR. He said they called 911 shortly after the realized that they could not revive his wife.
The Norht's house is a large two story house with a concrete wall around it and several other homes on the property. The master bedroom and bathroom were filled with numerous medical devices and equipment including a Cardiassist machine, boxes of 13 boxes of Medifil II, a tank of Carbon dioxide, and several Oxygen tanks. There were books and miscellaneous items of a metaphysical nature. There was also a large box addressed to a Dr. Raymond Peat at this address and to the care of Jennifer Page.
From the Narrative section:
...
Witness Page told them she was a nurse and Witness Provau felt she should have known to put the victim on a hard flat surface. Corporal Grigsby also said there was a cylinder of carbon dioxide near the victim with a hose running from the cylinder, but not connected to anything on the other end. Corporal Grigsby further advised Witness North indicated he did not believe in doctors or hospitals and had been treating the victim for ailments at home.
....
As for the bottle of carbon dioxide, Witness North said that was used to cool the victim's legs because of pain from what he described as poor circulation. The medical equipment and herbal supplements were there because Witness North and the victim did not believe in doctors or hospitals. He said the victim had been ill for the past several months and never sought medical assistance. Witness North felt that any problems they encountered could be treated by other means through research and consulting others. He said the victim was taking codeine for pain, which he was able to obtain from Canada without a prescription. He said she was taking 8 mg every hour and a half for the past three to four days. Witness North said for two weeks prior to the codeine, the victim was drinking Blue Sky Vodka also to relieve the pain in her legs.
...
Dr. Sara Irrgang concluded her studies in this case and found the causes of death to be; "Respiratory depression", "Multiple drug overdose" and "Toxic levels of codeine and salicylates." She also found the victim to be suffering from organic diseases such as; "Infected stasis dermatitis," "Morbid obesity" and "Arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease." Dr. Irrgang ruled the manner of death as an "Accident".
I contacted Dr. Irragang in reference to her findings regarding the toxicology report. She advised the victim had a toxic level of codeine and toxic level of aspirin in her system. She said the victim was not able to metabolize the drugs fast enough due to her poor health condition; There she was overmedicating. Dr. Irrgang believed the 8-mg every hour and a half was more than what would normally be prescribed to a healthy person.
*** MICHAELL ***
The complete scanned images of the report can be found at: http://www.cosmicfool.com/lazaris/michaell
Victim was laying back in a pool chair inside a screened patio on the south side of the residence. There was a clear plastic bag taped over his head and a 10lb. cylinder of nitrous oxide sitting on his right side with a flexible metal line leading from the cylinder to under the plastic bag.
On the victim's left side was another pool chair with a legal pad on the seat with a hand written note stating:
[[[
To whom it may concern, my dearest Peny died tonight, there is no way those words can convey my loss. Long ago I decided if this were to happen I would take my life as soon as possible.
So this letter is to let you know I will soon leave this physical plane to be once again with my beloved Peny.
No one knows of my plans, so no one can be prosecuted for helping me (Hey it's my life I'll do with it what I choose).
All I can say is what a fortunate man I was to know her all these years.
No regrets
Michaell North
]]]
Jennifer Page (reporter) stated that she lives and works in the same house and last night the victim's wife died at home. She also stated that they had always said that if one of them died, the other would commit suicide.
Jennifer saw the victim leave the residence around noon today in his Rolls Royce, she never saw him return, but at approx. 1645 hrs she noticed the car was in the driveway and when she went to see if he needed anything, she discovered him in the chair on the patio and called "911".
From the Narrative section:
....
During the scene investigation it was noted that the victim was found in a reclining position on a chaise lounge on the deck next to the swimming pool. The deck was just outside of the victim's bedroom. A plastic bag was over his head and a hose ran from the bag to a small cylinder next to the lounger. The victim's right hand was on the valve of the cylinder. The valve on the cylinder was in the closed position. A label on the cylinder indicated the content to be nitrous oxide. Located next to the victim in a chair was a handwritten note signed by the victim. Between the victim's legs was a roll of duct tape, which a piece was used to create a seal of the plastic bag. After searching the victim's backpack, which was located nearby, a receipt was found from a Lil Champ dated May 9, 2001 at 10:51 A.M. Also a receipt was found from American Motor Sports dated May 9, 2001. This second receipt was for the purchase of an aluminum cylinder containing 10 pounds of nitrous oxide, along with a hose and nut.
....
Witness Jach Pursel provided background information about the victim saying the victim had changed his name several years ago and was known as John Michael Prestini. He said the victim's parents and brother were somewhere in the western part of the United States. Witness Pursel could not provide anything additional since the victim had cut all contact with his family several years ago. With the knowledge of the victim's birth name, I was able to locate his mother and daughter and informed them of his death. Both acknowledged not having any recent contact with the victim.
....
Dr. Shashi Gore of the District Nine Medical Examiner's Office conducted an autopsy on the victim to determine the cause and manner of death. After the examination and based on circumstances at the scene, Dr. Gore determined the cause of death to be from "Nitrous oxide poisoning" and the manner of death was a "Suicide".
At a later date, I took the cylinder of nitrous oxide to American Motor Sports located at 4130 North Orange Blossom Trail. I spoke to Tim Dickerson, salesperson, who recalled the victim coming in to make the purchase. He said the victim told him he was making the purchase for a friend. Mr. Dickerson said he was able to recall the victim because he drove up in a very old Rolls Royce, which they talked about for several minutes. Mr. Dickerson was asked to weigh the aluminum bottle in an effort to determine how much of the gas was missing. He determined with a digital scale that just under one pound of gas was still present. The bottle had been originally filled with ten pounds of nitrous oxide.
....
I met with Witness Pursel and Witness Page at the victim's residence to discuss events surrounding the victim's death. The following is s synopsis of what they told me:
Witness Pursel was asked about having any prior knowledge of the victim's desire to commit suicide upon his wife's death. He said the victim and his wife had said years ago that if one died the other would take their life in order to be with them. Witness Pursel was asked why he did not tell me about this pact between the victim and his wife. He said even though the victim had made statements like that in the past, it had not been recent and he did not believe the victim. Witness Pursel said the victim made no statements about suicide the day of his wife's death, only that he wanted to be alone.
Witness Page also said she was aware of the agreement between the victim and his wife, and as with Witness Pursel, she did not believe the victim would do it.
Posted by Katie on 09-16-2001 10:24 PM
Intensive News
Posted by Craig on 10-12-2001 09:45 PM