11-18-2003, 04:15 PM
Drugs eyed in death of popular student
By Douglas Belkin, Globe Staff,
and Emma Stickgold Globe Correspondent, 11/18/2003
A Brandeis University rugby player ingested hallucinogenic mushrooms in Gloucester on Saturday, prompting him to "flip out," slash his neck, and throw himself out a third-story condominium, a law enforcement official said yesterday. The student died hours later.
Eliezer Schwartz was "a stable kid" with no known suicidal tendencies when he took the drugs, said the official, who asked not to be identified. Schwartz died after surgery at Addison Gilbert Hospital.
The 21-year-old finance major was with four friends when he grabbed a serrated kitchen knife and began slashing and puncturing the right side of his neck, the law enforcement official said. One of Schwartz's friends tried to stop him, but after a brief struggle Schwartz jumped off the balcony.
Investigators do not suspect foul play, Essex County District Attorney John Blodgett said yesterday. Gloucester police declined to comment.
Blodgett said yesterday, "We're looking at drug use among the participants at the party, as well as who owned the apartment." Dennis Nealon, a spokesman at Brandeis, said, "The university cannot comment about what took place in Gloucester."
A resident at the complex, who also asked not to be identified, said he heard Schwartz land and rushed outside. By the time he got outside, Schwartz was "screaming help me, help me," and had dragged himself about 30 feet into the street. He was bleeding profusely from several slash and puncture wounds in his neck, the resident said.
Another neighbor reached Schwartz first and pressed a towel to his neck to stanch the blood, but it quickly soaked through.
Within about 30 seconds of stopping in the street Schwartz passed out, the resident of the complex said. "It was awful, awful," the resident said. "He was bleeding like crazy."
By Douglas Belkin, Globe Staff,
and Emma Stickgold Globe Correspondent, 11/18/2003
A Brandeis University rugby player ingested hallucinogenic mushrooms in Gloucester on Saturday, prompting him to "flip out," slash his neck, and throw himself out a third-story condominium, a law enforcement official said yesterday. The student died hours later.
Eliezer Schwartz was "a stable kid" with no known suicidal tendencies when he took the drugs, said the official, who asked not to be identified. Schwartz died after surgery at Addison Gilbert Hospital.
The 21-year-old finance major was with four friends when he grabbed a serrated kitchen knife and began slashing and puncturing the right side of his neck, the law enforcement official said. One of Schwartz's friends tried to stop him, but after a brief struggle Schwartz jumped off the balcony.
Investigators do not suspect foul play, Essex County District Attorney John Blodgett said yesterday. Gloucester police declined to comment.
Blodgett said yesterday, "We're looking at drug use among the participants at the party, as well as who owned the apartment." Dennis Nealon, a spokesman at Brandeis, said, "The university cannot comment about what took place in Gloucester."
A resident at the complex, who also asked not to be identified, said he heard Schwartz land and rushed outside. By the time he got outside, Schwartz was "screaming help me, help me," and had dragged himself about 30 feet into the street. He was bleeding profusely from several slash and puncture wounds in his neck, the resident said.
Another neighbor reached Schwartz first and pressed a towel to his neck to stanch the blood, but it quickly soaked through.
Within about 30 seconds of stopping in the street Schwartz passed out, the resident of the complex said. "It was awful, awful," the resident said. "He was bleeding like crazy."