Posted on 11/30/2004 7:17:34 PM PST by woofie
Ruth Ann Smith, punched in the face hours before her death in July, actually died of caffeine poisoning, according to the state Office of the Medical Investigator.
Death by caffeine poisoning is extremely rare; only two caffeine "exposures" resulted in death in the United States in 2003, according to American Association of Poison Control Centers statistics.
Smith's death is considered a homicide because the doctor who examined her "said that the injury (from being struck) contributed to the death," said OMI spokesman Tim Stepetic.
OMI provided the cause of death report Monday. Stepetic said that Smith's death certificate indicates she was "assaulted while caffeine intoxicated."
Stepetic did not have information Monday on what might have caused Smith's poisoning. He said the amount of caffeine in her system was "extremely, extremely high, maybe three times the lethal limit for caffeine in the body."
Caffeine comes in capsule form in stay-awake stimulants and diet pills as well as in coffee, tea and soft drinks.
"I can't imagine it being coffee," Stepetic added. Smith's son, Eric Smith, 17, has been incarcerated in the Santa Fe County juvenile jail since his mother's death in July. He is charged with a single count of aggravated battery against a household member and a single count of kidnapping.
Ruth Ann Smith was taken to St. Vincent Hospital by ambulance around 6:30 p.m. on July 23 after Eric Smith allegedly struck her during a fight at their mobile home on Chalan Road, according to the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Department.
She died at the hospital that night.
Hearing postponed
Eric Smith was supposed to have a court hearing Monday in which a judge would review his conditions of release. The hearing was postponed due to snow. It might take place today.
One of Eric Smith's attorneys, Sydney West, has said that Ruth Ann Smith's death was caused by pre-existing medical conditions. She contends that Ruth Ann Smith was having a seizure at the time of the altercation with her son, and that Eric Smith was not trying to hurt his mother.
"We believe he was trying to restrain her and trying to prevent her from hurting herself," West said earlier this month.
West said Monday that the OMI's caffeine poisoning finding "fits with our defense, because the child has always said that he was trying to restrain her and calm her down."
West refused to speculate on what Ruth Ann Smith might have ingested to cause a caffeine overdose. "There's been a history of suicide attempts with her," West said.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano has said that Eric Smith told sheriff's deputies he struck his mother in the face with an open hand and a closed fist the evening she died.
Eric Smith's father, Rodney Smith, said in August that his wife, Ruth Ann, suffered from epilepsy her entire life. West, Eric Smith's lawyer, said after a Nov. 22 hearing that Ruth Ann Smith was schizophrenic.
The OMI's Stepetic said Monday he has the death certificate for Ruth Ann Smith, but not a final autopsy report.
Explaining the delay
One reason for the long delay in determining a cause of death was the complex nature of the case and the complex toxicology testing that determined she died of caffeine poisoning, Stepetic said.
Assistant District Attorney Heidi Pircher, who couldn't be reached for comment Monday, has said previously that the outcome of Ruth Ann Smith's autopsy report could mean additional criminal charges for Eric Smith— including a possible manslaughter charge.
Pircher has said that when Ruth Ann Smith was admitted to the hospital July 23, she had numerous bruises on her body. Ruth Ann Smith also had "deep tissue bruising" to her liver and a broken bone near her right eye socket, according to Pircher.
Leslie Easom, a pharmacist and associate director of the New Mexico Poison Center, on Monday provided statistics from the American Association of Poison Control Centers on caffeine overdoses.
Ok put down that coffee .....
Step away from the cofee cup...
< after Eric Smith allegedly struck her during a fight at their mobile home on Chalan Road >
Why say "mobile" home? Why not just "home"? Hmmm...
Contributing factor?
Coffee Prayer
Caffeine is my shepherd; I shall not doze.
It maketh me to wake in green pastures:
it leadeth me beyond the sleeping masses.
It restoreth my buzz: it leadeth me in
the paths of consciousness for its name's
sake. Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of addiction, I will
fear no Equal(tm): for thou art with me;
thy cream and thy sugar they comfort me.
Thou preparest a carafe before me in the
presence of Juan Valdez: thou anointest my
day with pep; my mug runneth over.
Surely richness and taste shall follow me
all the days of my life: and I will dwell
in the House of Folgers forever.
Take away my coffee, and I could envision some bodily harm to someone.
sounds like "profiling"
The odds of coffee alone being the cause of this are slim, at best. If I remember my reading, caffeine only becomes lethal at 10 to 15 grams. The amount of caffeine in the most potent cups of coffee only comes in at a few hundred milligrams. The only way I can think of to get that much caffeine into your system is through mass consumption of pills. Of course, you can die by consuming enough of any kind of pills, even childrens tylenol...
Makes one wonder if Clinton's pet ME, Fahmy Malak, hasn't emigrated from AR to NM...
Right. My brother has seizures. We always punch him in the face to restrain him during the seizure. When he is knocked unconscious he can do no harm.
a mobile home in Key West goes for around 350K
Oh PLEASE! LOL that's because of all the yankees who want a lifestyle experience, kinda like those idiots who buy sheep farms for the heck of it in New Zealand.
i have a friend there....he's bitchn that's all he can afford and wifey is freshly implanted by the tadpole.
i think they will move.
I would prefer a double wide to the property tax hell that is Long Island. Cheaper and less maintainence.
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