-
Login
-
Digital Edition
-
Print Edition
- Most Commented
- Most Commented
- Most Emailed
- Most Emailed
- Popular
- Popular
« News Home
Clues sought in ’06 death
TweetThe girl may have been alive when dumped on a desolate road.
YOUNGSTOWN — Veronica Rose Luthern’s obituary described the one-time cheerleader as a friendly teenager who worked as a waitress, enjoyed sports and liked to dance.
There was also a tragic, dark side to the pretty, brown-haired girl.
A coroner’s report, compiled from family interviews, described her as a tattooed drug abuser and high school dropout trying to get a degree online. The report added that she worked at strip clubs and prowled seedy North Side drug houses.
She declined to seek treatment for her bipolar disorder, investigators were told, choosing instead to self-medicate with Xanax, a drug used to treat anxiety.
At 6:45 a.m. June 27, 2006, a passer-by discovered Veronica’s lifeless, rain-soaked body face up on a desolate stretch of Sycamore Street, just west of Andrews Avenue on the North Side. She’d turned 18 on May 6.
Veronica was wearing a green and white halter top and blue jeans. Her purse, with cash inside, and flip-flop sandals were nearby.
The jeans were pulled down to midthigh, and there was a small amount of grease or oil on her neck, which appeared to Rick Jamrozik, a coroner’s investigator, to mean that someone had grabbed the pants to pull her out of a vehicle.
Toxicology tests showed she had ingested cocaine, Fentanyl (a high-potency opioid), oxycodone (pain killer) and benzodiazepine (sedative). The drug cocktail caused her death.
How she came to overdose to her death, however, falls into the “could not be determined” death category. Nationwide, 2 percent of deaths land in that category.
An intentional overdose wasn’t considered because family who saw her the night before told investigators that she was “looking to party.” The Girard girl’s death was likely an accidental overdose but that wasn’t determined with certainty, Jamrozik said.
There have been situations, he said, where people passed out from drugs have been injected with an overdose and died. Such deaths could be considered homicide, he said.
“There’s a chance she was alive when dumped,” Jamrozik said. “I remember looking at her [recent] driver’s license photo, she looked hardened, compared to the 2004 Hubbard High School ID I found in her purse.”
He termed what happened to Veronica’s appearance between 2004 and 2006 the result of a “downward spiral.”
Jamrozik hopes someone comes forward with information about what happened.
Tipster are asked to call Crime Stoppers at (330) 746-CLUE. Callers can remain anonymous. Rewards are given for information that leads to an arrest.
“It’s been a rough 22 months. I chose to block out her death. My sister kept track with detectives, I couldn’t do it,” said Veronica’s mother, Denise Luthern, 42, of Girard. “The idea is that they could have driven her to the hospital and she’d be alive today. It’s clearly foul play.”
Luthern said Veronica didn’t have a car so would have called someone for a ride. She believes someone gave her daughter “too much of something.”
Veronica likely passed out in the car and whoever dumped her panicked and didn’t want to get involved, her mother said.
Veronica’s sister, 21-year-old Melanie Luthern, is a student at Ohio State University. She said three months before Veronica died, one of her good friends overdosed and Veronica was the only one willing to call 911.
She cried recalling how very close she and Veronica had been, drifting apart only when Veronica turned to drugs. It’s upsetting, she said, thinking that it may have been one of her sister’s friends who left her in the street.
“She was a beautiful girl. It drives us crazy every day. We have no idea who she’d been with, there was supposed to be party on Saranac [Avenue], just a couple blocks from where she was found,” said Veronica’s aunt, Debbie Campbell of Hubbard.
“She was dumped on the side of road like garbage — and up the road they went.”
Campbell said her niece had completed three months at a drug rehabilitation center in East Liverpool and was trying to get her life back on track. The girl got involved with drugs and the wrong people, Campbell said.
Veronica’s death was investigated by Detective Sgts. Ron Rodway and John Kelty.
“We want to know what happened to her. She was left for dead in the middle of the street,” Kelty said. “She had to be with someone she knew — you don’t come from Girard and go to a Youngstown dope house by yourself.”
He said it would be good to provide the family with closure, peace of mind. There was no evidence that she was forced to take drugs but the way she was left — like a dog — bothers one’s sensibilities, he said. It was upsetting, he said, that whoever was with her didn’t take her to a hospital or call police.
The person — or people — who dumped Veronica could be charged with abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence, said City Prosecutor Jay Macejko. Also, under the right circumstances, those involved may be responsible for involuntary manslaughter, he said.
meade@vindy.com
Comments
damn, thats crazy.i met this girl at a party once, like a month after she was found dead on the north side, cant believe it =(
Although, I am very happy that the Youngstown police and local media are trying to find new clues surrounding the death of my sister, I am appalled at the article that was in the paper yesterday. My family and I were under the impression that this article was for the sole purpose of obtaining further information surrounding the abandonment of my sister. We would NEVER have contributed to an article that bordered on such defamation.
I am not naive and I am not the kind of person that sugarcoats the facts; however, there is a fine line between being truthful and being disrespectful. My sister is dead and everyone who knows that knows that she overdosed as a result of her own decisions. Your article talks about closure for our family. What closure we may receive from the help of the media and authorities has thus far been tainted by sensationalized and negative depictions of my sister.
It would be better if we could obtain the needed information without painting the picture that you did yesterday. On the phone you told me that you wanted to bring the readers back to Veronica's life. There are a million better ways to remember her than what you included in your article. Additionally, it seems as if your purpose was counter to that of the police. What you offered seemed more like a justification for her death than a plea for help and for that you should be ashamed of yourself. Do you think that portraying my sister as a "tattooed junkie" and finding the most biased information to support that conclusion, makes any person feel guilty about leaving her on the side of the road dead or to die? Or would prompt anyone to offer information on the matter? I am really just speechless because your article disregards all respect for the deceased.
Although, your information may be valid, it is skewed in a manner highly unfavorable to yourself. You seem insensitive and disrespectful. You have essentially defamed a dead girl, and contributed to a tainted memory that was starting to dissipate but now has been thrust back into the face of everyone with callous disregard. Our family does not constitute the only people who were disturbed by your article yesterday.
The Vindicator and yourself should be embarrassed of an article that was supposed to be "helpful". It was only hurtful. I am disgusted that I gave you a quote to put in your article. Veronica was a beautiful and loving person and she should be remembered for all of the good qualities that she possessed. Your article was not relevant to finding information regarding the people who abandoned her, was not helpful in remembering Veronica as the person she really was, or even in using her death as a deterrent for others. I will post this email on the website because I am so ashamed that people might think I contributed to the defamation of my own sister.
Melanie Luthern
"One time cheerleader, tattooed drug abuser and high school drop out.?" From the ignorance of this article I'm surprised to see that you mentioned that regarding the fact she might have faced issues with drugs, she DID try and get help. Anyone who would be close minded enough to describe her as you did cannot forget that fact. Anybody who knew Veronica for 10 years to being around her for 10 minutes knows that she was more than anything you described her as. I think it's disgusting and completely irrelevant how you portrayed her in an article that is supposed to seek more information on clues about the ignorant people who left her.
Veronica was one of those people where you could go forever without seeing, and when you were with her nothing's changed. Veronicas strong personality gave her an ability to fit in anywhere. She was fun and beautiful and that's how anyone who knew or loved her will remember her.
You seem to have a really negative attitude towards Veronica in this article. Sure, she had some problems, but there is no reason to use them so negatively, especially if the point of the article is to get people to help find answers about her death, and not scare them into thinking she was some kind of person that deserved what happened.
Though I may not have known Veronica personally, I have heard quite a bit about her form her family and friends. She was a wonderful person to be around, and every one of them loved her, and even now miss her. Not one of them are, nor would they, be happy to read this and see how you portrayed her.
I'm sure you will find many people complaining about this article, it's wrong of you to make a person such as this sound so horrible, and I'm sure all of her family and friends agree with me.
I knew Veronica and her family ever since i was little. It's very hard for me to type this comment without crying. She was a wonderful girl, until she got mixed up in life. The author of this article, inappropriatly judged Veronica. YES, she did get involved with drugs and the wrong people, but the author rarely mentioned all of Verns good qualities. EVERYONE makes a mistake, unfortuantly Veronica's took her life. I just dont want anyone to think of Veronica and her family in a negative way. She was a beautiful girl, and i wish the best for her family.
This article was suppose to be about finding out who committed the crime of leaving my neice on the side of the road. Not making my niece sounds so disquisting. This is not how Veronica's family remembers her. Her grandparents along with other family members are really upset with how you wrote this article. We all LOVE her very dearly & MISS her very much everyday. Not a day goes by without her comming into our minds somehow. Now we fell as though we have to defend the girl that we lost because of how you portrayed her. If you would have known Veronica you would have known one of the most loving & caring individuals in the world. She would give someone the shirt off her back if they needed it. Sure we all have problems & flaws but to publicly announce that in the Vindicator was completely uncalled for.
As a victim of crime myself, I find this news article to be very repulsive. How dare you talk so negatively about a victim?? You did not know her. Veronica was a beautiful, young woman who had much opportunity arising in her life. Every young girl has issues in their lives. She was just trying to figure out how to deal with them. Just a young girl with problems.
We only want someone to come forward who seen her that night, who gave her a ride... why not take her to the hospital?? Just answers for a little closure. But, unfortunately, this kind of publicity will do us no good.
Do everyone a favor, when you write about a victim, please try to put yourself in their shoes and think of how you would feel if this was written about your loved one???
I echo the comments made on this story..When I read the story it disgusted me. I'm so glad their are people out there that came to this girls defense to an article slandering her; it's too bad someone will not come forth and claim the wrong that was done when she was dumped on the road. May she rest in peace and know that people out here do care...
i am veronica lutherns uncle her mother is my sister,and i can't even begin to tell you how disapointed i am with the article you published about my niece,we came to you for help and all you did was taint the memory of our loved one.do you even realize what you have done?it's been almost 2 years since my niece was found dead and nothing has been done and all you people did was bring back nightmares that were still trying to forget,we want justice not insults,yes my niece had problems what teenager don't she battled with bi-polar disease for many years and anybody that knows about that might understand her situation,yes she also battled with drugs which is also a disease theres no way veronica ingested all them drugs on her own free will, i dont care what anyone says,basically theres someone out there who is getting away with murder and all you people can do is talk bad about her ,she's a child for christs sake.all i can say is if anything like this happens in your family i'll be first in line not to give a damn, veronica did have her problems, but if you had a problem she would be the first one to help you,and this is how you portray her you should be ashamed.i think veronica and my whole family deserves a written apology,or would that be to humane? we all love you vern very much, uncle denny