Autopsy report released in Narconon death
BY JARREL WADE World Staff Writer
Thursday, November 22, 2012
11/22/12 at 5:18 AM
One day after preliminary reports indicated that a woman who died at Narconon Arrowhead died of an accidental overdose, state officials released her full autopsy report.
The report identifies her cause of death as an overdose of the prescription pain reliever oxymorphone and shows no other apparently significant abnormalities.
The woman, Stacy Dawn Murphy, 20, of Owasso, died July 19 at Narconon Arrowhead, a drug rehabilitation facility northeast of McAlester on Lake Eufaula, after she returned to the facility from a short leave of absence.
Murphy's death spurred an ongoing, multiagency investigation into the facility's practices.
The official autopsy report is one of several things officials have been waiting on to complete their investigation, said Jeff Dismukes, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.
Narconon Arrowhead is the flagship branch of an international drug-rehabilitation organization rooted in the teachings of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.
Murphy's family has a wrongful death and negligence lawsuit pending against the Narconon program.
Oxymorphone is an opiate used to relieve moderate to severe pain, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine website.
The drug works by changing how the body responds to pain.
Other recent deaths at the facility include those of Gabriel Graves, 32, of Claremore and Hillary Holten, 21, of Carrollton, Texas.
Graves died Oct. 26, 2011, and Holten died April 11.
Graves' and Holten's full autopsy reports have been released, but their causes and manners of death were undetermined, according to the reports.
Graves' and Holten's families also have filed lawsuits against Narconon.
Original Print Headline: Autopsy report released in Narconon death
Jarrel Wade 918-581-8367
jarrel.wade@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Stacy Dawn Murphy: The Owasso woman's death spurred an ongoing, multiagency investigation into practices at the Narconon Arrowhead drug rehabilitation facility near McAlester. An autopsy report released Wednesday says Murphy died of an overdose of the prescription pain reliever oxymorphone
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