Update
http://www.ctpost.com/default/article/Newtown-teenager-s-death-ruled-accidental-drowning-619196.php
Dirk Perrefort, Staff Writer
Published: 10:22 p.m., Tuesday, August 17, 2010
The death of a 17-year-old Newtown girl found floating in a Monroe pond on Memorial Day weekend has been ruled an accidental drowning, according to police.
Danielle Jacobsen, 17, was found by authorities May 30 floating in 3 feet of water in a pond near the Northbrook condominium complex in Monroe, where authorities said she had attended a party earlier that weekend.
According to Monroe Police Capt. Michael Flick, officials with the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner listed Jacobsen's cause of death this week as accidental drowning, although dimethyltryptamine, a drug also known as DMT, was found to be a "contributing factor," Flick said.
Flick added that after consultation with the state's attorney's office, no additional charges will be filed against Quentin Ham, 22, of Newtown, who is accused of supplying DMT, a hallucinogenic more powerful than LSD, to the girl during a party at a Stillmeadow Circle condo May 29.
Police said Jacobsen had been at the condo unit with Ham and four other young men when Ham dumped a yellow powdery substance onto the dining room table.
According to authorities, Jacobsen appeared agitated after snorting the drug and asked how long the effects would last. She then left the condo, complaining she was going to vomit, and did not return.
Flick said because the drug is so new, forensic experts are unable to determine its effects on the human body at certain levels. He added the case will be inactive, pending new information.
The girl's mother, Francesca Jacobsen, said Tuesday she "still has a lot of unanswered questions."
"It's totally unfair that just because they don't know everything about the drug, they are ruling out more charges," she said. "She (Danielle) was a water baby. She wouldn't have drowned."
Francesca Jacobsen added that while she doesn't think Ham is totally to blame for her daughter's death, she believes "something went terribly wrong and nobody helped her."
Liz Jorgenson, a counselor with Insight Counseling of Ridgefield, said the use of DMT in this area is relatively rare, although she did hear reports of limited use of the drug around the time of Jacobsen's death.
She added that, like many hallucinogenics, it is difficult to overdose on the drug, but it can alter reality to a point that a user might believe the laws of physics no longer apply.
While the drug has several dangers, including psychotic episodes, people can also take "inordinate physical risks while under the influence."
"I once had a client who drove a quad off a cliff because he thought he could fly," Jorgenson said.
She added that among more than 400 patients last year only three or four reported using DMT.
Ham remains in custody on charges including two counts of sale of illegal drugs. His bonds total $220,000.
He faces charges, including second-degree breach of peace and carrying a handgun without a permit, for an incident May 30, shortly after Jacobsen's body was found, when Ham attempted to commit suicide, police said.
Police said they found Ham with a handgun in the field behind CVS on Queen Street in Newtown and he was threatening to kill himself.
Police said they also found Ham's cell phone, which had a message on it for the Jacbonsen family.
"It was me," the message said in part. "I am responsible for this atrocity. I gave her DMT, and therefore I am the one you must hate for this."
Contact Dirk Perrefort at
[email protected]
or at 203-731-3358.
