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Posted July 24
Mother Rips Police, Hires PI to Investigate Son's Death at Party
The mother of a teenager who died after a May party has asked the county's district attorney for help, saying in a letter that the Orinda Police Department's investigation has been "strangely out of focus and shockingly passive," The San Jose Mercury News is reporting.
"There is significant evidence everywhere that would seem to indicate that serious crimes may have been committed, and it did not seem like the Orinda police were actively pursuing answers," Marianne Payne said Thursday in an e-mail.
At a May 23 party in Orinda, Joseph Loudon choked after a combination of alcohol and papaverine, a prescription medication, caused him to vomit.
Payne said that while she has done everything she can to support the investigation into her son's death, she thought too little was being done to find out what happened to him.
In the letter to District Attorney Robert Kochly, Payne said the police department has dismissed pieces of evidence she thinks are crucial, and that she thinks some callers to the police with potential information about the case have been screened from speaking with investigators.
"(It) takes courage to make such a call, and it is disheartening to know that people were so readily turned away," Payne wrote.
Orinda police Chief Bill French declined to comment on the letter.
Payne also said that police have shown no interest in recovering Loudon's cell phone, and that her phone bill shows data transfers were made following his death,
which she thinks shows that someone removed evidence from the phone.
She also said that Loudon's medical records at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Walnut Creek were "inappropriately accessed" May 26.
Kaiser spokesman Jim Caroompas confirmed that an employee did view Loudon's records in violation of company policy and that "appropriate action" was taken. He did not elaborate, saying he could not discuss personnel matters.
Kochly said in an e-mail that while his office has provided some guidance in the investigation, the case has not been formally submitted to him.
"While I understand Mrs. Payne's frustration, some of the questions she has may never be fully answered," he said. "That is simply the reality in many criminal investigations, regardless of how intensively the case is investigated."
Tom Payne, Loudon's uncle and Marianne's brother, said many answers may still be out there. The family has hired Mike Mahoney, a former San Francisco Police Department homicide investigator, to try to find them.
"We just feel we need all the help we can get," Tom Payne said.
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