EDMONDS, Wash. - Police here are asking for the public's help
retracing the steps of a young girl who died after being brought to a
hospital by friends.
Police spokesman Don Anderson said 16-year-old Danielle Dawn McCarthy
was unconscious when she was dropped off at Stevens Memorial Hospital
on Monday.
She was spending the night at a friend's house in Puyallup, but
decided to leave with her friends and some people she'd just met.
She went to a party at a home in the 9400 block of 220th Street
Southwest in Edmonds on New Year's Eve and into the early hours of the
following morning.
At some point in the night, she was also spotted with friends at a
party in Seattle's University District, Anderson said.
Investigators say friends brought McCarthy to the hospital after she
was found unconscious at the Edmonds home where the party was held.
"She was a good girl and she had a future. She deserved a
future," said her mom, Lisa McCarthy, from their Puyallup home.
Anderson said that the medical examiner has not yet determined how
McCarthy died, but detectives are calling the death
"suspicious."
"We need to know what my daughter's last hours were. No matter
how rough it is, we need to know how she died and why," said
Danielle's father, Pat McCarthy.
Detectives want to talk to anyone who saw Danielle that night.
"We want to know what their observations were, what she was
doing, who she was with and if there are any other names of people we
should be talking to," said Sgt. Anderson.
Danielle's family plans to pass out police contact information at her
funeral.
"I want my daughter back, but I can't get her back," said
her dad.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Edmonds Police Department
tip line at 425-771-0212.
Now they know what killed her, but Edmonds police are no closer to
resolving the circumstances of 16-year-old Danielle McCarthy’s death
at a New Year’s Eve party in Edmonds.
As determined by the county coroner, the Puyallup girl succumbed to a
lethal overdose of the drug Ecstasy. Friends rushed her to Stevens
Hospital in the early hours of New Year’s Day, but she did not
recover.
Complicating the investigation is the fact that earlier on New
Year’s Eve the victim had attended a party in Seattle’s University
District. Later she gravitated to the Edmonds party in the 9400 block of
220th Street SW.
Investigators want to know where Danielle Dawn McCarthy ingested the
fatal overdose, who gave it to her, and how it was obtained.
Ecstasy is the street name for a drug whose triple-barreled
scientific name is methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA. It is taken
orally as a capsule or tablet. Its street names include hug and love
drug.
According to a 2005 nationwide survey, 3 percent of 12th
graders in the U.S. had used Ecstasy in the past year. Short-term
effects include feelings of emotional warmth, enhanced perception and
increased energy.
Adverse effects may include nausea, chills, sweating, muscle
cramping, blurred vision and, in extreme cases, death.
Edmonds police Sgt. Don Anderson asks that anyone who was with the
girl that night, at either location, to call the department tip line at
(425) 771-0212.
The death of a 16-year-old Puyallup girl after a New Year's Eve party in
Edmonds has been linked to the drug Ecstasy, according to a report by
the Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office released Monday, Feb. 5.
Danielle Dawn McCarthy died at Stevens Hospital Jan. 1 after friends,
who found her unresponsive at a party they were attending, took her to
the hospital emergency room. The medical examiner identified the cause
of death as acute intoxication from Ecstasy; the manner of death was
undetermined.
Ecstasy, according to information from the National Institute of Drug
Abuse, is a synthetic, mind-altering drug with hallucinogenic and
amphetamine-like properties. Use of the drug by teens and young adults
is increasing nationwide, the NIDA reports.
Ecstasy changes the natural effects of serotonin, the chemical the body
produces to help modulate moods and emotions. When serotonin levels rise
and fall drastically, brain activity can be adversely affected, the NIDA
concludes.
McCarthy was attending a party in the 9400 block of 220th Street
Southwest when friends found her unresponsive and took her to Stevens.
She reportedly had attended a party in the University District of
Seattle earlier in the evening.
The Edmonds Police ask that anyone who saw or was with McCarthy that
evening contact them at 425-771-0212. Sgt. Don Anderson, department
spokesman, said the department will issue a follow-up report on the
investigation within the next several weeks.
PUYALLUP, Wash. -- A 19-year-old man has been
arrested in connection with the death of a 16-year-old Puyallup girl.
The medical examiner said Danielle Dawn McCarthy died from an acute
Ecstasy intoxication at a New Year’s Eve party in Edmonds on Jan. 1.
Friends brought McCarthy to Steven’s Hospital in Edmonds early New
Year’s Day after finding her unconscious.
According to a police press release, Edmonds police detectives
located and interviewed nearly everyone who was with or near McCarthy
the night of her death.
Detectives arrested a Puyallup man accused of providing McCarthy with
Ecstasy.
The man was booked into the King County Regional Justice Center on
the charges of controlled substance homicide, but it was decided that
charges would be pursued through the Snohomish County prosecutor's
office. The man has since been transferred to the Snohomish County Jail,
where he is due in court Friday.
The girl’s father, Patrick McCarthy, said his daughter was against
drugs and even tried to get him to stop smoking.
“I would trade everything in my life to have her back, but if I
can’t, I need to get the message out. These kids seem to think they
are invincible, that Ecstasy is a safe party drug. It’s not. Even one
time can kill you,” said Patrick.
The Puyallup father said that others should come forward in the case,
and said that at least a half dozen young people watched his daughter go
into a seizure and die.
Police said they have not ruled out other arrests in the case.
A Puyallup man accused of selling a teenager a fatal dose of the
drug Ecstasy on New Year's Eve has been charged with drug homicide in
Snohomish County Superior Court.
David Michael Morris, 20, allegedly sold the party drug to
16-year-old Danielle McCarthy, also of Puyallup, during a night of
partying in Seattle's University District and Edmonds.
Investigators determined that McCarthy was given the Ecstasy in a
car while traveling through King County en route to the Edmonds party.
Morris allegedly saw her vomit, have a seizure and lose
consciousness before he took her to the Stevens Hospital emergency
room in Edmonds early Jan. 1.
Morris is believed to have sold Ecstasy twice to McCarthy and
another girl during the course of the night, according to court
documents. He told detectives he thought McCarthy had fallen asleep.
EVERETT -- A teenage girl has become the second person charged with
controlled substance homicide in the Ecstasy overdose of a 16-year-old
girl on New Year's Day.
Snohomish County prosecutors in Everett filed the charge against a
17-year-old high school junior and classmate of Danielle Dawn McCarthy,
16, of Puyallup, who was dead by the time fellow partygoers took her to
a hospital early on the morning of Jan. 1.
The 17-year-old girl pleaded innocent at her arraignment Friday and
was released to her mother's custody.
David M. Morris, 20, of Puyallup was charged in February with
controlled substance homicide, essentially providing an illegal drug to
someone who dies as a result.
Patrick McCarthy, the dead girl's father, said Wednesday he wouldn't
be shocked if others also are charged.
"Knowing who the players were, we knew more charges were
coming," the father said. "We are hoping that others could be
charged in the way of rendering help" to the crime.
He said his daughter had been spending time with the 17-year-old girl
for several weeks but was "not a close friend." The girl spent
a night at the McCarthys' residence in the week before the death, and
the parents thought their daughter was spending New Year's Eve at the
17-year-old's house.
Instead, according to court documents, the two girls went with Morris
to New Year's Eve parties in Edmonds and the University District in
Seattle, then returned to Edmonds after McCarthy got sick and began
slipping into unconsciousness periodically. She was pronounced dead
after Morris and the 17-year-old took her to Stevens Hospital in
Edmonds.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007 - Page updated at 01:59 PM
By Jennifer Sullivan Seattle Times staff reporter
An 18-year-old high-school senior who prosecutors say failed to
provide adequate aid to a classmate — who overdosed on Ecstasy on New
Year's Eve and later died — is now facing a charge of first-degree
manslaughter, which could result in a prison term of more than eight
years.
Donalydia Huertas, of Puyallup, had previously been charged with
controlled-substance homicide, a juvenile-court
charge that could have resulted in a standard sentencing range of zero
to 30 days in jail. But Snohomish County prosecutors on Tuesday amended
the charge so Huertas would be tried in adult court and also charged her
with the more severe crime of manslaughter.
Deputy Prosecutor Coleen St. Clair wrote in the amended charging
documents that she filed the two adult charges after plea negotiations
on the juvenile charge had not resulted in a resolution. St. Clair said
Huertas told other people not to help Danielle McCarthy, also of
Puyallup, even though the 16-year-old was violently sick and pleading
for help.
"One is a crime [controlled-substance homicide] based simply on
the fact of causation: You give someone the drugs and they die,"
said Snohomish County Deputy Prosecutor Joan Cavagnaro. "The other
[manslaughter] involves the additional involvement of recklessness —
being aware of a risk and failing to account for it."
Prosecutors allege that neither Huertas nor co-defendant David
Morris, a 20-year-old Puyallup man charged with controlled-substance
homicide, sought help for McCarthy until it was too late.
On New Year's Eve, McCarthy, Huertas, who was 17, and Morris drove
from Puyallup to parties in Edmonds and on the University of
Washington's Greek Row. Witnesses said that during the evening McCarthy
had taken Ecstasy that Huertas bought from Morris, according to charging
papers.
But after taking a second tablet, she grew nauseated, the charging
papers say. She stayed in the car, drowsing, while the others partied.
By the time the group got back to Edmonds, around 4 a.m., McCarthy
was incoherent and drifting in and out of consciousness. She soon had a
seizure, court papers said.
When someone tried to awaken McCarthy at 6:30 a.m., the girl's face
was cold and her lips were blue. In court papers, Huertas told police
she did what she could to save her friend. She helped put McCarthy in a
warm bath, splashed water on her face, tried to breathe life into her
and helped bundle her in towels, according to court papers. Huertas and
Morris then drove McCarthy to Stevens Hospital in Edmonds, where she was
pronounced dead.
Huertas will be arraigned Monday. Her attorney, Lance Hester,
declined to comment Tuesday.
Prosecutors said that charging someone who gave drugs to an overdose
victim is rare. Adding manslaughter to a controlled-substance-abuse
charge has likely never been done in Snohomish County, prosecutors said.
"I think we've charged controlled-substance homicide in this
office maybe three times," Cavagnaro said. "It's difficult to
prove the elements of the crime. I imagine that most of the time that
someone dies of an overdose there aren't many witnesses around."
EVERETT -- The charge against a teenager accused of providing Ecstasy
to a younger classmate and refusing to seek medical attention before she
died has been increased to first-degree manslaughter.
The new charge was filed Tuesday in Snohomish County Superior Court
against Donalydia Huertas, 18, of Puyallup, previously charged in
Juvenile Court with controlled substance homicide in the overdose death
of Danielle Dawn McCarthy, 16, also of Puyallup, after a round of New
Year's Eve partying in Edmonds and the University District of Seattle.
The more serious charge, which could bring a prison term of more than
eight years, was filed after Hertas turned 18 and negotiations failed to
result in a plea agreement, Deputy Prosecutor Colleen St. Clair said.
"One is a crime based simply on the fact of causation: You give
someone the drugs and they die," Deputy Prosecutor Joan Cavagnaro
said. "The other (manslaughter) involves the additional involvement
of recklessness -- being aware of a risk and failing to account for
it."
Huertas was scheduled for arraignment Monday. Her lawyer, Lance M.
Hester, would not comment.
Huertas, the second person to be charged in the case, is accused of
buying four tablets of Ecstasy and giving two of them to McCarthy.
According to court filings, Huertas bought four tablets of Ecstasy, a
synthetic drug also known as MDMA, from another partygoer, David Michael
Morris, 20, of Puyallup, who is scheduled for trial in January on a
charge of controlled substance homicide.
Prosecutors wrote that Huertas gave two of the tablets to McCarthy
and repeatedly refused to seek medical attention when the younger girl
fell ill. Over an eight-hour period McCarthy vomited, became unable to
walk, lost consciousness, went into a seizure and was dead by the time
her companions brought her to Stevens Hospital in Edmonds
EVERETT -- A Puyallup man who sold drugs to a teenager admitted
responsibility Friday for the New Year's Day overdose death of a high
school girl in Edmonds.
David Michael Morris, 20, pleaded guilty to the seldom-used charge of
controlled substance homicide after making the drug Ecstasy available to
Danielle McCarthy, 16, also of Puyallup.
He could serve up to five years in prison when he's sentenced on Feb.
21.
Morris will apply for a special sentence for drug offenders. If he is
accepted and Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Ellen Fair agrees, he
could wind up spending half that time in prison and the remainder
undergoing drug therapy outside of jail.
Morris also will have to testify in the trial of a co-defendant,
Donalydia Huertas, 18, who is charged with controlled substance homicide
and first-degree manslaughter in Danielle's death.
Huertas is expected to go on trial in late January or early February,
deputy prosecutor Colleen St. Clair said.
Controlled substance homicide has been on the books for years, but it is
seldom charged, often because it is difficult to trace the source of
drugs in fatal overdose cases, prosecutors said.
According to court documents, Morris, Huertas and Danielle were among a
group of young people who attended a New Year's party in Edmonds. St.
Clair alleged that Morris sold Ecstasy to Huertas, who in turn gave the
drug to Danielle.
Documents said Danielle became ill about 1 a.m. on Jan. 1. Huertas
repeatedly refused to let others get help for the younger girl,
documents say.
During the next eight hours, Danielle vomited, became unable to walk,
lost consciousness and went into a seizure, documents said. According to
court papers, Huertas and Morris at one point put McCarthy in a warm
bath and splashed water in her face.
She was taken to Stevens Hospital in Edmonds around 9:45 a.m., where she
was pronounced dead. The Snohomish County Medical Examiner's O ffice
said Danielle died from acute Ecstasy intoxication.
Published: May 13th, 2008 01:00 AM
| Updated: May
13th, 2008 07:38 AM
The trial of a young woman accused of giving a 16-year-old
Puyallup classmate the Ecstasy drugs that killed her has been delayed
four times. It was originally scheduled for last July.
Now
prosecutors say they are optimistic the trial will begin in early June
without further delays.
More than a year after Danielle McCarthy died of an overdose, her father
is more than ready to have some resolution.
Pat
McCarthy would like a guilty verdict against Donalydia Huertas, who’s
accused of giving Danielle the drugs that killed her on Jan. 1, 2007.
But more than anything, he’s eager for the long court process to be
over.
“Whether it is good or bad, we need to start our lives,” Pat McCarthy
said last week. “The uncertainty of everything is what’s really
emotionally draining.”
Huertas is charged with first-degree manslaughter and controlled
substance homicide. Now 18, Huertas is being tried as an adult in
Snohomish County Superior Court.
Huertas’ attorney, Wayne Fricke, is filing a motion requesting the case
be sent back to juvenile court. Huertas was originally charged with
controlled substance homicide as a juvenile, but prosecuting attorneys
added the manslaughter charge and moved the case to adult court after
she refused a plea bargain.
“It’s clearly a juvenile case,” Fricke said. “That’s where she was
arraigned, that’s where she pleaded not guilty, and that’s where it
should have remained.”
He
said prosecutors wanted Huertas to accept “an exceptional sentence” in
exchange for a guilty plea, which would keep her in state custody until
she is 21.
Deputy prosecutor Coleen St. Clair said she couldn’t discuss details of
the plea offer, but said Huertas still will be charged as a juvenile if
she is found guilty only of controlled substance homicide. If she is
found guilty of manslaughter, however, she could be sentenced to between
61/2 and 81/2 years in prison, plus an additional four to six years for
the controlled substance homicide charge.
According to court documents, Danielle and Huertas left Puyallup the
night of Dec. 31, 2006, to attend parties in Edmonds and Seattle. At the
time, the girls were both juniors at Rogers High School.
During the night, Huertas gave Danielle two Ecstasy tablets she bought
from a friend, according to court documents.
When Danielle became sick after taking the second tablet, she reportedly
stayed in a car while Huertas and her friends came and went from
fraternity parties.
When Danielle’s friends tried to wake her in the morning, she was
unresponsive. By the time Huertas and others took her to the hospital,
records show, she was dead.
A
medical examiner’s report confirmed Danielle died of acute Ecstasy
intoxication.
Another defendant, David Morris, pleaded guilty to controlled substance
homicide in January for his role in Danielle’s death. He admitted
selling Huertas the drugs she gave to Danielle and driving the two girls
from Puyallup to Edmonds, according to court documents.
Morris is awaiting sentencing.
Meanwhile, the McCarthys are waiting, too. Pat McCarthy said he’s
looking forward to when both cases are closed and his family can start
to heal.
“We’re stuck in limbo,” McCarthy said. “We’ve got to start over again,
and we can’t do that until this is put behind us.”
EVERETT, Wash. -- A Puyallup man who admitted to supplying drugs
that killed a 16-year-old girl has been sentenced to more than two
years in prison.
Twenty-one-year-old David Morris pleaded guilty to controlled
substance homicide, a felony, in the overdose death of Danielle
McCarthy, of Puyallup. He admitted he supplied Ecstasy to McCarthy
on New Year's Eve 2006.
Morris appeared in Snohomish County Superior Court on Wednesday.
Before learning his fate he listened to the emotional word of
McCarthy's grieving family members.
"It's like something cut us in half...and everyone can see," said
mother Lisa McCarthy. "they say it gets easier with time. I don't
know who 'they' are. It doesn't get easier. You just get better at
hiding the pain."
Danielle died after a night of partying with her friends more than
two years ago, but several questions remain unanswered. For
instance, it remains a mystery why Morris did not do anything sooner
to help the teen. Danielle was already dead by the time she was
finally rushed to the hospital after taking two tablets of Ecstacy.
"There were so many points along the way when her life could have
been saved," said Judge Ellen Fair on Wednesday.
Danielle's father said he lives with that troubling point every day.
"Danielle is the first thing I think of when I wake up, the last
thing I think about when I go to bed at night. But everything in
between is how she died," said Patrick McCarthy.
After hearing to the painful words of Danielle's parents, Morris
made a tearful apology to the family.
"Not a day goes by when I don't think about what happened and the
loss of Danielle," he said.
Morris was granted an alternative sentence for drug offenders.
In addition to his prison sentence, Morris will be under community
supervision for more than two years and be required to undergo drug
treatment. If he fails to meet all the requirements of treatment,
he'll be sent back to prison to finish out the remainder of his
sentence. Once out of prison, he will also have to serve 30 months
of community service.
Morris, who has been out of custody, was ordered jailed immediately.
He is expected to remain in the Snohomish County Jail in Everett
during the trial of co-defendant Donalydia Huertas. The 18-year-old
woman from Puyallup is expected to go on trial next week.
Prosecutors say Huertas bought the drugs from Morris and gave them
to McCarthy. She is charged with first-degree manslaughter and
controlled substance homicide. She has refused to take the guilty
plea.
Video: Drug dealer in teen's Ecstasy death gets 30 months
EVERETT, Wash. – A man who sold the drug Ecstasy that killed a
Puyallup girl was shown some leniency from a judge Wednesday for his
cooperation in the investigation.
David Michael Morris of Puyallup was sentenced to 30 months in prison
for the New Year's Eve 2006 death of 16-year-old Danielle Dawn McCarthy,
also of Puyallup.
Danielle's mother was in tears as she spoke at the sentencing.
"I hope someday he has the courage to explain to me why my child's
life wasn't worth saving," said Lisa McCarthy. "She's dead and she's not
coming back... and she was mine and I loved her."
Morris will also have to serve 30 months of community custody upon
his release, which will include substance abuse treatment. If he fails
at that or commits another crime, he'll serve the remainder of those 30
months in prison.
"I want to apologize to the McCarthys for the loss of their daughter.
I know it won't change her not being here, but I wish it could," Morris
said in court.
McCarthy took the drug at a party. After two doses, prosecutors say
Danielle became very sick and started having seizures, but no one did
anything to help her. Morris finally drove her to an Edmonds hospital,
but she was already dead.
Morris faced up to five years in prison.
Danielle McCarthy
The lighter sentence was not part of a plea bargain. The judge cited
the fact that Morris was cooperative through the investigation, pleaded
guilty to controlled substance homicide and voluntarily agreed to
testify against another suspect, 18-year-old Donalydia Huertas. She's
the classmate who is accused of actually giving McCarthy the Ecstasy,
then telling people not to help Danielle as she was suffering. Huertas
is charged with controlled substance homicide and first-degree
manslaughter.
Trial begins next week for Huertas. She was offered similar deals to
Morris' in both juvenile and adult courts, but pleaded not guilty.
SEATTLE -- A Puyallup teen convicted in the
overdose death of a classmate is fighting a Snohomish County judge's
decision to keep her locked up until her 21st birthday.
Donalydia Huertas, 19, has been in juvenile detention since August, when
Superior Court Judge Ellen Fair ordered her held until she turns 21. The
judge determined that the standard juvenile sentence -- a maximum of 30
days -- would be a manifest injustice.
Huertas was convicted in June of second-degree manslaughter and
controlled substance homicide in the Ecstasy overdose death of Danielle
McCarthy, 16. A jury found that Huertas was negligent when she supplied
McCarthy with drugs and failed to summon aid while the girl overdosed
for several hours.
Huertas' attorney Wayne Fricke is scheduled to argue today in the state
Court of Appeals in Seattle for his client's release.
Huertas is not expected to attend the hearing set before a court
commissioner.
"I hope to get her out by Christmas, if there's any justice in the
world," Fricke said.
The Tacoma attorney said he plans to argue that Fair erred when she
ordered a sentence beyond the standard range. He said the evidence
doesn't support the judge's decision and the sentence against Huertas is
excessive.
Huertas also has appealed the conviction, but that argument isn't
expected to be heard for months.
Huertas was charged with first-degree manslaughter and controlled
substance homicide and went on trial in adult court because of the
seriousness of the charges.
Jurors failed to reach a decision on the first-degree manslaughter
charge. Instead they convicted Huertas of the lesser crime of
second-degree manslaughter.
The jury's decision sent the case back to juvenile court for sentencing.
Fair said Huertas needed to be locked up longer than a month to protect
the community. Fair also ruled that the crime was cruel and McCarthy was
a vulnerable victim whom Huertas refused to help. Huertas was 17 at the
time.
Snohomish County prosecutor Seth Fine said that the facts of the case
support a finding that there were aggravating factors to support a
lengthier incarceration for Huertas.
McCarthy suffered for hours and Huertas took a leadership role in
failing to summon medical help for her classmate, he wrote.
Fine also argued that Fair appropriately considered the disparity
between the sentence for Huertas and co-defendant David Morris.
Morris, who was 19 at the time of the drug death, was convicted as an
adult and sentenced to nearly five years in prison for controlled
substance homicide. He admitted selling the Ecstasy to Huertas.
"Mr. Morris was properly held responsible for delivering the drugs that
killed the victim. Ms. Huertas did that and much more," Fine wrote.
Fair didn't abuse her discretion when she ordered Huertas be held for
about two years, he added.
A decision isn't expected for at least a week.
If Huertas prevails, she could be released immediately from juvenile
detention. She already has been locked up more than 30 days.
juvenile-court
charge that could have resulted in a standard sentencing range of zero
to 30 days in jail. But Snohomish County prosecutors on Tuesday amended
the charge so Huertas would be tried in adult court and also charged her
with the more severe crime of manslaughter.
