MEADVILLE — Why didn’t a Titusville homicide suspect who died of an overdose of over-the-counter drugs get medical treatment right after telling authorities he had taken the pain medication? “I can’t answer that right now,” Det. Timothy Russell of Titusville Police Department said Tuesday. “I have to establish the timeline and put the pieces together on how it all happened.” Russell said it may take several weeks to finish a report on the death of Michael Paul Brooker, 35, of Phoenix, Ariz., who was charged by Titusville Police with killing Renee Gates, 23, of Titusville. Gates was Brooker’s girlfriend. Gates died at 2:15 p.m. Sunday at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh from an acetaminophen overdose after apparently having taken the pills a few days before, an official at the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office said. different authorities have either not been available or have said they do not know how much painkiller Brooker took or when he did so. Crawford County District Attorney Francis Shultz said earlier this week Brooker had told police he had taken aspirin or Tylenol prior to turning himself in to police in Titusville. Acetaminophen is the generic name for Tylenol, an over-the-counter pain medication. the Allegheny County Coroner’s Office ruled Brooker’s death a suicide since the acetaminophen level in Brooker’s body was so high it caused liver failure. the Allegheny County Medical Examiner in Pittsburgh says they are issuing the death certificate on Brooker, but that any autopsy on his body must be authorized by Crawford County authorities. Brooker was arraigned during the early morning hours of Dec. 22 on a Titusville Police charge of homicide for Gates’ death a few days earlier. He was taken to the Crawford County jail in Saegertown following arraignment, and was subsequently hospitalized. Police charged Brooker after he walked into the Titusville police station around 11:20 p.m. Dec. 21 and told officers he’d killed Gates. Brooker told the police on duty that Gates died almost three days earlier in a violent fight at her apartment and Brooker had left her body buried in the snow outside, near the apartment. During Brooker’s initial interview, Brooker told the officers on duty that he had ingested pills, Russell said. Questioned why medical treatment wasn’t sought for Brooker right away, Russell said he didn’t know, adding that his investigation wasn’t complete. “I want to get the facts straight on what was said to whom,” he said. “not that I can recall,” Russell said when asked if Brooker mentioned ingesting pills during a subsequent interview Russell himself had with Brooker. Brooker died Sunday after being transferred from Meadville Medical Center late Wednesday. Death records at Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office records show Brooker arrived at UPMC Presbyterian shortly after midnight Wednesday (early Thursday morning), about 24 hours after he turned himself in to Titusville police. there wasn’t a record of the exact time Brooker was admitted to UPMC, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. Crawford County jail Warden Tim Lewis is on vacation this week and unavailable for comment. County jail officials said they couldn’t release information on when Brooker initially was taken to Meadville Medical Center for treatment. Contacted by the Tribune, Ted Watts, Crawford County’s attorney, said a release of when Brooker was taken to Meadville Medical Center would violate federal medical privacy laws since it indicated Brooker was being treated at a medical facility. a person shouldn’t take more than 4,000 milligrams of acetaminophen in a day, according to the website for U.S. National Library of Medicine, which is part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Regular strength Tylenol is 325 milligrams per pill, and extra strength is 500 milligrams per pill. Ingesting 7,000 milligrams or more can lead to a severe overdose, according to the website. Overdose symptoms may not occur until 12 hours or more after taking the drug, according to the website. Russell said he still is awaiting a forensics report from the Pennsylvania State Police crime lab. Russell said also he must continue to conduct interviews of persons living in the apartment complex on Rockwood Drive where Gates lived. Russell said he hoped to send a final report on the case to Crawford County District Attorney Francis Schultz within the next three weeks. Schultz confirmed Tuesday he was awaiting a final report on the case. Keith Gushard can be reached at 724-6370 or by e-mail at kgushard@meadvilletribune.com.
Brooker's death the third jail-related death since 2008
the death of Michael Paul Brooker, an inmate from the Crawford County jail, is one of two jail-related deaths this year and three since 2008. Corrections Officer Gary M. Chapin, 49, was assaulted by an inmate the night of Oct. 13 while Chapin was performing his duties as a corrections officer at the jail in Saegertown. Chapin died Nov. 15 after never regaining consciousness. His death was ruled a homicide by the Crawford County Coroner’s Office. Gregory G. Brown, 24, of Meadville, is accused by Pennsylvania State Police of assaulting Chapin. Brown is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing Jan. 24 on one count each of criminal homicide, aggravated assault and assault by prisoner. if convicted, Brown faces a maximum of life in prison and a $50,000 fine on the criminal homicide charge, while the aggravated assault charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $25,000 fine, and the assault by prisoner charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine. Crawford County Coroner Pat McHenry ruled Chapin’s death a homicide due to complications of blunt force trauma to the head. McHenry said the autopsy showed Chapin had been thrown to or pile-driven into the floor head-first. In another jail-related death incident, the family of Gregory W. Williams of Johnstown filed a federal lawsuit against the county in January of this year. Williams was an inmate at the jail who died there Jan. 31, 2008. the family claims his death was due to negligence by Crawford County prison, its officials and its health care provider. that case is still pending in U.S. District Court in Johnstown.