Deaths at Park Charles not linked, police say
The deaths 14 months apart of Harsh Kumar, 30, and Emily Hauze, 23, are purely coincidental, city police said on Wednesday. That the two victims went down the same trash chute at the same apartment building, the Park Charles, is a bizarre coincidence, the police say.
Beyond that, police have released next to no information on how Hauze, a recent honors graduate of Loyola University Maryland, died on Sunday morning. Her family has not talked, and neither have officials at the school.
Tenants of the high-rise apartment at Charles Center have expressed doubt that anyone could accidentally or purposely go down the chute, which have oven-like doors that are heavy and spring-loaded.
But police reiterated on Wednesday that Kumar likely died an accidental death. An autopsy report I reviewed on Wednesday shows that Kumar had been drinking and taken powerful sleeping pills before he died:
The report says he suffered numerous cuts on his head, face, arms, chest and legs, and that his fingernails were dirty and bloody. It also says that his black tank top had “large tears and blood stains.” Kumar was 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighed 156 pounds, according to the report.Relatives of Kumar have also declined to talk to us.
The report concluded that Kumar “bad been consuming alcoholic beverages prior to his death and also took Zolpidem concurrently.” Zolpidem is a sedative that slows the brain to help people sleep and is prescribed to treat insomnia. The manufacturer warns that sleep can come quickly and last several hours, and that the drug should not be taken with alcohol.
Pathologists did not say how much alcohol Kumar had consumed or how many pills he had taken. The report concluded: “The facts of the investigation did not demonstrate overt signs of suicidal intent.”
Comments
What you failed to explain is how a drunk on sleeping pills managed to find the coordination to open the chute and insert himself into it.
Posted by: no one | October 19, 2011 9:35 PM
Also if you look at the picture they had posted of the chute there is no way someone just fell in and there is no way someone drunk and on pills go in there, wouldnt the dirt indicate a digging type motion like trying to get out of it or trying to stop your self. and did they ever check to see if he was perscribed these pills or if someone placed them in his drink at a party or something and then put him in the chute to get rid of evidence. it all seems fishy to me. and now they are not releasing much info on this girl that also just "fell" down the chute???? I think the hall ways need cameras in them.
Posted by: confused | October 20, 2011 1:08 PM
It seems presumptuous of the police to make such a determination before the medical examiner releases his findings. Did they find Zolpidem in her system as well? Are her injuries similar to those of the previous victim's? Why are the police being so tight-lipped? Did she live on the same floor as the previous victim, or was she a visitor, and who was she visiting? It may not be the case, but it seems more plausible the injuries were inflicted upon them, and their bodies were discarded down the chute. How many bodies need to be found in the same trash chute before a coincidence becomes a pattern that resembles foul play?
Posted by: very skeptical | October 20, 2011 5:33 PM
Its now October 23rd...still no word from police on how she died?? I can't believe that this beautiful, intelligent girl fell down that chute...she did not live there...who was she visiting? We need a good reporter such as yourself to stay on this case and press until we get some answers...I truly believe that someone out there knows how this girl died....please do not let this rest until we get some answers!
Posted by: maxielovesme | October 23, 2011 8:02 AM