Fifteen years ago I learned from a stranger’s voice at a hospital emergency room on the west coast where my daughter was attending college, she was dead-on-arrival at their hospital from GHB poisoning. The men, a local hip-hop singer and his band, who brought my daughter to the hospital admitted in sworn statements to the police she had been at their music studio forty to fifty minutes before she fell to the floor convulsing and went into a coma. The men despite attempting to give CPR and quitting, didn’t call 911 or seek medical attention.
What’s always been confusing is the homicide division didn’t immediately react to the red herring in the men’s statements i.e., my daughter was at their studio 40 to 50 minutes before showing any symptoms of distress, which indicates my daughter did in fact ingest the GHB at the music studio, despite the men’s denial they were the source of the GHB or had anything to do with her death. Their statements were flawed with suspicious impossibilities. Her rapper/friend denied he was in a relationship with my daughter, and denied his involvement with her professionally e.g., she had designed the covers for his CDs (http://www.musicstack.com/discography/abstract+tribe+unique/mood+pieces/r722941.) Neither the police nor the homicide division of San Francisco followed up on the issues, and they never brought the men in for questioning beyond the initial statements they gave he police called to the hospital. The facts surrounding her death and the GHB poisoning were never made clear to the public (http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Concern-Over-Rise-In-Blue-Nitro-Use-6-in-S-F-2912000.php.)
The men, they walked away–free men, unaccountable for their predatory acts and it is clear from my daughter’s friends who she had been with all evening prior to her leaving for the music studio to pick up her rapper/friend in the predawn hours of Easter Sunday, she was clear and radiant, and fully cognizant. It was clear she never would have voluntarily taken the massive dose of GHB still remaining in her system postmortem even though GHB metabolizes from the blood and tissue very rapidly. Her toxicology report indicated GHB was the only drug in her system although there was a trace of alcohol.
My daughter’s life ended senselessly and her death has left an indelible stain on our hearts. My hope has been to this day to find a retired private detective who will take an interest in wanting to solve my daughter’s cold case and reopen an investigation to look at the evidence with a mind to solve the crime because those who predatorily murdered her with GHB need to answer in a court of law. Particularly since 15 years ago there wasn’t as many facts about GHB as we now know and by the men’s own admission (in their statements), my daughter didn’t show symptoms until 40 to 50 minutes after she arrived at their music studio to pick up her rapper/friend, who had called and asked her to come get him. She was never seen alive again. Her drink was spiked with a fatal dose of GHB, and the predators aren’t turning themselves in.
What we now know (http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/research/job185drugs/gamma-hydroxybutyrate.htm), as fact, is GHB reacts in the body within 15 to 20 minutes minutes of ingestion depending on stomach content. And, if you are drinking alcohol it has a synergistic effect (speeding) on the depressing the central nervous system. GHB is made from industrial solvent purchased at the hardware store and can be manufactured in one’s kitchen sink.
BUT, despite all we know about GHB ((http://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/amendment-process/public-hearings-and-meetings/20040317-19/Avergun-DOJ.pdf), it’s proliferation (http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2013/02/27/2-investigators-date-rape-drug-becoming-favorite-for-recreational-use/) has moved from the kitchen sink operations of the 90’s to worldwide clandestine manufacturers (http://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/californians-overdose-leads-arrest-phoenix-and-seizure-1100-gallons-illegal) around the planet, especially China, who manufacture GHB in 55-gallon drums and is marketed over the internet by black market dealers.
GHB IS A THREAT TO SOCIETY and the more awake and conscious and aware we become of predators armed with GHB in our midst the more likely we can destroy the market for this threatening drug. Who do you think is predominately the victim of GHB and date rape drug poisonings? WOMEN. Be a beacon for GHB awareness and watch out for vulnerability in women in your proximity. If you see someone putting something in someone’s drink, speak up…WARN the potential victim. Align with your sisters.
In honor of my daughter, Skylar Lynn, be conscious, stay aware of your drinks…NEVER leave your drink unattended. “Spread the good word in honor of Skylar Ringland, a shining star of our underground family who lost her life recently due to her involuntary ingestion of GHB,” (http://www.metroactive.com/papers/sfmetro/05.10.99/groundscore.html)..
To anyone who seeks to donate to the Skylar Lynn Ringland Foundation and the investigation into her senseless death, please contact Cathleen (Cat) Lynn Boyle at catboyl30@gmail.com.
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