Posted at 10:30 p.m. EDT Friday, July 24, 1998
Syfert killed himself, police say, blaming mushrooms By TONY MECIA Staff Writer Charlotte, NC After a four-week investigation,
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police ruled Friday that the death of the Charlotte city manager's son was a suicide. Jeff
Syfert, 25, was found in his south Charlotte apartment June 28 with knife wounds. Medics rushed him to the hospital, but he died
on the way. The investigation concluded that Syfert had consumed hallucinogenic mushrooms earlier that evening. He
died of a self-inflicted knife wound to the heart, police said. The behavior was atypical of Mr. Syfert, and the only thing it
can be attributed to is hallucinogenic mushrooms,'' said Police Chief Dennis Nowicki. No charges will be filed in Syfert's
death, Nowicki said. Syfert had no history of illegal drug use aside from a few experiences with mushrooms, police said.
Syfert, the son of Charlotte City Manager Pam Syfert, graduated from Myers Park High School and attended UNC Chapel
Hill. Friends and family remembered him as a talented writer and avid outdoorsman.
In a written statement, Syfert's family said Jeff Syfert had researched mushrooms and concluded that they were safe because they're grown naturally. However, they warned others that ``there are no safe drugs.'' ``There just aren't enough of the horror stories out there which talk about the psychotic states they can induce, causing otherwise reasonable and rational people to commit terrible acts,'' the statement said. Syfert's family also said they were thankful for his life and thankful for the support of the community. ``We're not sure we will ever understand how or why this had to happen,'' the statement said. ``We do know no parent should have to bury a child. It's just not how life is supposed to be.'' Reach Tony Mecia at (704) 358-5107.
From: Majordomo@mapinc.org
Subject: DND: US IL: Glen Ellyn Teen Killed Mom While On LSD, Judge Rules Reply-To:
Majordomo@mapinc.org Status: X-Mozilla-Status: 0001 Content-Length: 2153 -- ] Subj: US IL: Glen Ellyn Teen Killed Mom While On LSD, Judge Rules ]
From: Steve Young ] Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 13:34:40 -0400 Newshawk: Steve Young Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
Contact: tribletter@aol.com Website: http://www.chicago.tribune.com/
Pubdate: 14 Aug 1998 Author: Janan Hanna
Section: Metro DuPage, P. 1
GLEN ELLYN TEEN KILLED MOM WHILE ON LSD, JUDGE RULES A DuPage County jury on
Thursday found Bryan Walker guilty of first-degree murder for killing his mother, Vera Walker, 39, moments after she had
called 911 to report that he was under the influence of LSD. Jurors, who returned the verdict after deliberating 2 1/2
hours, apparently rejected Walker's defense that the LSD made him unaware of what he was doing at the time of the
killing. Walker was 16 years old and a sophomore at Northwest Academy in Streamwood at the time of the Jan. 15, 1997,
killing. He was tried as an adult and is to be sentenced by Judge Thomas Callum on Oct. 2.
During the weeklong trial, DuPage County Assistant State's Attys. Dan Guerin and Dave Bayer told jurors that Walker was angry with his mother for
calling 911 and that it was rage rather than hallucinations that prompted the killing. Defense attorneys countered that
Walker was not aware that his mother was dead until police began interviewing him hours after the crime. They tried to
convince jurors that he was not responsible for the crime because of his mental state. "This verdict shows that a jury is
not going to let you claim that you're not legally responsible just because you took some illegal drugs," Guerin said.
During interviews with police after the killing, Walker identified the murder weapon and eventually re-enacted the crime
with a juvenile police officer, indicating that he remembered crucial elements of the slaying, prosecutors argued.
Vera Walker's body was found outside the Glen Ellyn townhouse she shared with her son at 369 Farnsworth Ct. with the blade of a 5 1/2-inch steak knife in her back. - --- Checked-by: Mike Gogulski
Subject: [Fwd: Drug-crazed teen hurts self in rampage]
Date: Wed, 20 Jan 1999 23:36:37 -0500
From: Mike jones <mikejone@ix.netcom.com>
To: calcru@mail.interpath.net
Subject: Drug-crazed teen hurts self in rampage
Date: Wed, 20 Jan 1999 18:07:18 -0800
From: "Bob Owen@W.H.E.N." <when@olywa.net>
To: "_Drug Policy --" <when@hemp.net>
Wednesday, 20 January 1999
Drug-crazed teen hurts self in rampage
Jeffry Scott, The Arizona Daily Star
Police say the student was hit when he ran in front of this bus and was
later found under the bus.
By Heather Urquides
The Arizona Daily Star
A Canyon Del Oro High School student on a drug-induced rampage ran in front
of a school bus yesterday afternoon, seriously injuring himself, police
said.
The 17-year-old teen, whose name was not released, screamed that he was
going to kill himself before and after the accident, said Department of
Public Safety Officer Jason Stevens.
The student was taken to University Medical Center with a broken collarbone,
a head injury and numerous cuts and bruises. His injuries did not appear to
be life-threatening, said George Good, a Rural Metro Fire spokesman.
The teen's strange behavior started at about 1:30 p.m. when he reportedly
went to a friend's northside apartment, Stevens said.
``He said he was on acid and then all of a sudden he went crazy,'' Stevens
said.
The teen ran from the apartment, busting windshields and denting car roofs
along the way, Stevens said.
He then stripped naked and ran onto North Oracle Road, near West Magee Road,
in front of the bus, Stevens said.
The Canyon Del Oro bus was carrying five students, but no one inside was
injured, he said.
After being struck, the teen got up and ran across the street, where he fell
and rolled into a ditch, Stevens said.
When a witness tried to help him, he spit at him, Stevens said.
The teen then repeatedly banged his head on a drainage ditch before running
back into the road, he said.
When paramedics arrived, they found the teen under the bus, Good said.
``He was underneath the bus ripping out wires,'' Good said.
Stevens said he suspects the teen may have been on PCP, or phencyclidine
hydrochloride.
``It possibly was PCP judging from some of the characteristics of things
he's done,'' Stevens said, noting that the drug causes the illusion of
superhuman strength.
``It's not that you have super strength,'' he explained. ``You just don't
feel pain and your body doesn't know when to stop. That sounds like what he
was working on.''
Police found a vial of a substance believed to be PCP in the clothing the
teen discarded, Stevens said.
PCP, commonly referred to as ``angel dust,'' was originally used by
veterinarians to sedate large animals.
However, its use was discontinued because it disturbed and bewildered the
animals before it put them to sleep, according to the 1990 Mayo Clinic
Family Health Book.
A high dose of PCP can cause users to become violent or act in bizarre ways.
An overdose can cause symptoms similar to an acute schizophrenic reaction,
putting the person at a high risk for suicide or violence toward others, the
book states.