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Thursday, November 20, 1997 Guest: Jennifer Johnson, Coroner ** Note: due to system troubles this guest chat was interrupted on Thursday and Jennifer Johnson returned on Friday. The information from both presentations has been combined in the Friday summary. Friday, November 21, 1997 Guests: Jennifer Johnson, Coroner and Detective Terrence Nelson Opening Remarks -- Jennifer Johnson: Hello everyone. Thank you for having me back this evening. Last night I reviewed basic information from the autopsy on Charles Lamar. I will review that again this evening for those who were unable to be here. I will then, of course, be open for any additional questions you may have. First, the time of death. Saturday, November 8, 1997 Charles Lamar was officially pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. The death certificate was signed by Dr. Cooper Dyson at Baptist Memorial Hospital where the body of Charles Lamar arrived DOA at 10:10 p.m. Second, cause of death. Third degree burns over 90% of his body, smoke inhalation, head and neck injuries were the immediate cause of death. In addition, we find numerous lacerations, abrasions, and blunt force trauma injuries at autopsy. Third. Mechanism, manner of death, is clearly the auto accident. Diazepam, the generic drug name for valium, and alcohol were both present in the toxicology report. Valium is the most popular brand name for diazepam, a drug used in the treatment of anxiety and stress. Lamar was prescribed the drug by his personal physician. His blood alcohol content, was .09%, this is the equivalent, given Charles Lamar�s weight of 230 lbs, of approximately 5 drinks or 5 oz of alcohol. I'd like to point out that this has been erroneously reported in the press at the much higher level of .5, and last night I made an initial error myself in reading from my notes, .09% is correct. The level of diazepam was the equivalent of 10 mg. While the coroner's job is not to interpret criminal findings and draw conclusions, that is the job of law enforcement -- a few points arising from the autopsy results and coroner's findings can be made. First, we find that based on national coroner�s statistics, suicide among law enforcement officers is most likely from self inflicted gunshot wounds, not from traffic accidents. His gun was not found in the car. Next, we find that Charles Lamar had a legitimate prescription from his physician for diazepam, or brand name valium, prescribed for anxiety and stress. The findings at his home show that the prescription was for 25 tabs and 15 remained in the prescription bottle. This is not an indication of an attempt at that time to commit suicide via a drug and alcohol overdose. Further, if I may return to a question posed last night, we find no traces at autopsy of needle or injection tracks and do not believe that the diazepam in Charles Lamar�s system at autopsy was there due to injection. The liquor bottle at his home was tested for traces of diazepam and none were found, therefore if the diazepam was introduced involuntarily, it was not through that method. The drinking glass was rinsed and unable to be tested so that remains a potential. There are no injuries found on autopsy that suggest Lamar suffered any trauma or injury prior to or inconsistent with the auto accident, this leads us to suppose that there was not an attempt to cover prior injury with the accident. I understand that a question exists as to why Charles Lamar, a law enforcement official, would consider getting behind the wheel of a vehicle with the amount of alcohol and diazepam in his system has been posed. I cannot guess at the motives that Sheriff Lamar had for operating a vehicle in his condition, but I can propose a few possible factors to consider. The onset of diazepam in the system is from 15 to 30 minutes. Given the Sheriff�s weight of 230 lbs, it is not unreasonable to postulate that it would take nearer the 30 minute onset time in his case. It is possible that when he got behind the wheel of his car he was not experiencing the full effects of both the diazepam and alcohol. I do, however, think that is also reasonable to assume that at the time of the accident, Charles Lamar was experiencing the full CNS (central nervous system) depressant effects of both and that this contributed to his confusion, lack of motor control and visual acuity in responding to the accident. National Coroner's statistics do show us clearly that at a .05% BAC the risk of auto accident doubles, at a .10% BAC the risk is 7 times greater. It is also noteworthy that at the time of autopsy, the levels of diazepam and alcohol in the blood may represent lower levels than what Charles Lamar began the evening with. I would be happy to address any questions you may have at this time. Question and Answer Session: Q: Were lacerations all due to accident, or were any caused prior to that? A: All injuries were consistent with the events of the accident. By all injuries, I do include lacerations. Q: Were there any needle marks? A: There were none. In fact there is no evidence that the Sheriff was injected with diazepam, if that is what you are thinking. The liquor bottle was tested for traces of valium and none were found, so if his drinks were laced, it was not from the bottle itself. The glass that he drank from had been rinsed and no traces of diazepam. Q: You said a "small amount" of diazepam. How much is that? A: 10 mg. His prescription was for 5mg. His prescription was for three a day. Q: How many pills were left in his pill bottle? A: 15, and the prescription was for 25. Q: How much did the Sheriff weigh? A: 230 pounds and he was 6 feet, 3 inches tall. Q: Would the small amount of alcohol really have affected that reaction? A: Yes, even a relatively small amount of diazepam coupled with a moderate amount of alcohol could effect a person's mental and physical state fairly dramatically. I should note too that his BAC was measured a considerable amount of time after his accident, so it was most likely higher prior to the accident. Q: Then the physician who gave him the pills would have told him this. No alcohol I mean. A: There are a number of drugs, including OTC drugs, that have alcohol warnings. It is very common for patients to ignore this warning. In this case it is possible that he did not realize he had already taken the medication and took it again, or possibly he was in a very agitated state and attempted to self medicate. I can only speculate on that question, I have no way of knowing his motives. Q: Was the level of medication consistent with his taking it as prescribed? A: Not exactly. Charles Lamar�s prescription would have called for a 5 mg tab 3 time per day, the blood level found was higher than his prescribed amount. Q: When was the prescription filled? A: His prescription was filled the prior Thursday which was November 6. Q: Were you able to ascertain just which of his injuries proved to be the cause of death? A: Yes. The damage to the lungs from smoke inhalation combined with the burns are the primary cause of death associated with a secondary cause of head and neck injuries. Q: How many valium did he take prior to the accident? A: The prescription was for 5 mg tabs, the finding in the tox screen suggests at least two, but it could have been more given the time of onset to autopsy. Q: Was enough missing from the Sheriff�s prescription to cover the excess or should we look for supplement from some other source? A: I think the question of looking to another source for the diazepam is unlikely. Either he took the dose himself orally or it was administered in his drink, which, as I said the glass was rinsed and unable to be tested. Q: Were there any marks from the seat belt? A: Yes, there were abrasions and injuries from the seat belt consistent with the accident. Question and Answer Session with Detective Nelson: Q: Are there any leads re the large sum of money Vicky obtained in New Orleans? And has anyone check out a connection between the money and Chambeau, his main office is in New Orleans? A: Miss Harberson�s finances are under scrutiny. She seems to have the IRS interested in her affairs. So, she will have few financial secrets. All money that passed through her hands will be accounted for and taxed. Q: Before Macy disappeared, she used the internet to research. Would your Department release the web pages visited? A: He ISP doesn�t save log files older than one week. I�m told Netscape cookies might yield this data. May I ask where you are headed with this thought? Q: I wonder if Macy found something that alarmed her. Maybe a search on �Aimee Harberson� produced some surprises. A: Ahh. Very interesting, I�ll have a look. Q: Isn't it possible that someone other than the Sheriff (Aimee perhaps) mixed the valium in his drink where it could not be seen? A: Yes, that is possible. I think many here would ascribe to that theory. Q: Was Sheriff Lamar bleeding internally when he was found at the crash scene? A: Yes, he was badly injured. Q: Any more information about the hang-up caller from Florence, Alabama to Caroline Blanchard? Has the caller been identified? A: No. The call was too short, and no discernible speech to pattern match. It was a payphone call. Q: Has the newly-conscious deputy had anything interesting to say about the Pierce and Phelps accident? A: He'll be here next week, everyday he seems to recall more about the accident. Q: What was the content of the prank call made to Ms. Blanchard? A: No content other than noise and rustling. Q: Has there been any connection between the locations indicated on the map found in the stolen vehicle and Chambeau�s land holdings? A: He didn't own any areas marked on the map. Although he owned land nearby Chambeau owns land all over. I'm making a note of your interest in the connection between the map and Chambeau. If you are correct, it could be interesting. Q: On the night of the murder, who was the last person to admit to seeing the Sheriff alive? A: No one saw him on Saturday that we know of. Q: Has anyone looked into the validity of Aimee's alibi for the night of Lamar's death? A: Aimee's alibi is under investigation.

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