Suicide

Jennifer Larsen, Formerly of Hustler and Porn Site Digital Playground, Commits Suicide

A former public relations and marketing executive with porn star site Digital Underground took her own life Sunday via a gunshot wound to the head, the Orange County Coroner has confirmed. That means Orange County mom Jennifer Larsen, who once worked as a talent coordinator for Hustler founder Larry ... More >>

[UPDATED with Suicide:] Melissa Rae Sutor is Missing and Had Been Acting "Strangely"

See the update at the end of this post about the woman reportedly taking her own life.ORIGINAL POST, APRIL 1, 1:49 P.M.: Have you seen Melissa Rae Sutor? The 28-year-old left her San Juan Capistrano home around 11:30 a.m. Friday, has not been seen since and is considered "endangered" by authorities.

[UPDATED with Jeremy Lewis Death Deemed Random:] Ali Syed Left Suicide Note in Ladera Ranch Home Indicating Rampage Was Planned

See Update No. 2 at the end of this post on police now saying construction worker Jeremy Lewis' death was random. See Update No. 1 on investigators exploring whether Ali Syed lured Lewis to the place where he was shot to death.ORIGINAL POST, MARCH 1, 12:16 P.M.: Ali Syed, the 20-year-old accuse ... More >>

[UPDATED with Student-Receptionist-Stripper?] 4 Dead in A.M. Shooting Spree

Updates throughout. The latest is Update No. 8 at the bottom of page 4 with conflicting reports about the female victim's employment.ORIGINAL POST, FEB. 19, 8:22 A.M.: Three people were killed and two others were wounded in a 25-minute spree of shootings that began in an upscale Ladera Ranch neighbo ... More >>

Elizabeth Jane Barrett Gets 3 Years Probation After Copping to Aiding WWII Vet's Suicide

A Laguna Woods woman was sentenced to three years of probation today after pleading guilty to helping an 86-year-old World War II veteran commit suicide in 2011 by serving him yogurt spiked with Oxycontin.Elizabeth Jane Barrett, 66, took part in the assisted suicide despite Jack Koency not being ter ... More >>

Mendy Brown, OC Homicide No. 43: Wife and Dog Believed Murdered by Husband Who Then Killed Himself on Halloween

Laguna Beach Police are dealing with three shooting deaths--husband Michael Brown, wife Mendy Brown and the family dog--that they believe are the result of murders followed by a suicide on Halloween. Bodies of all three were found after a co-worker of Michael Brown's went to check on the 49-year-old ... More >>

[UPDATED with I.D.:] Heather K. Tuiolosega, OC Homicide No. 42: Husband Nelson Tuiolosega, After Suicide Try, Held for Murder

See the update at the end of this post identifying the deceased as Heather K. Tuiolosega.ORIGINAL POST, OCT. 29, 4:39 P.M.: Huntington Beach Police responding to a call of a possible suicide arrived at 15555 Huntington Village Lane this morning to find a woman who had been murdered, according to the ... More >>

Elliot Smith's Former Girlfriend to Participate in Benefit For Suicide Prevention

Our friend Alyson Camus--the intrepid blogger for rockynycliveandrecorded.com, whose attention to the veiled circumstances surrounding the 2001 death of Elliott Smith, has yielded some interesting nuggets of information--is at it again. This weekend she was blogging furiously about fundrai ... More >>

[UPDATED with I.D.:] Terry A. Newhouse Commits Suicide After 7-Hour Standoff with Police at Balboa Coves

See the update at the end of this post identifying the deceased as Terry A. Newhouse.ORIGINAL POST, OCT. 2, 11:36 A.M.: One does not normally associate the tony Balboa Coves gated community--where current real estate listings show homes going for $1 million to $3 million each--with the kind of vio ... More >>

[UPDATED with Judge Denying Bail:] Rainer Klaus Reinscheid, UCI Professor, Charged for Fires, Threatening Murders and Sex Crimes

See Update No. 3 on judge denying bail for Rainer Klaus Reinscheid, his arraignment being delayed and other details.See Update No. 2 at the end of this post on the University High School infraction that apparently led to the suicide of the UCI professor's son and the charges pending against the acad ... More >>

[UPDATED with OCSD comments:] Are Deputies Covering Up The Laguna Hills Murder of a 25-Year-Old U.S. Army Veteran?

[Update at end] ORIGINAL POST, JULY 11, 9:00 A.M.: The mother of a 25-year-old U.S. Army veteran found dead at an affluent Laguna Hills neighborhood playground on Jan. 6 claims her son was murdered and Orange County Sheriff's Department (OCSD) investigators didn't just wrongly rule the case a suicid ... More >>

Lagwagon

House of Blues

[UPDATED with Killer Revealed:] Christine Lauren Bennett, 2011 OC Homicide No. 71: Found in Condo

DMVBennett​UPDATE, JAN. 6, 8:47 A.M.: According to Christine Lauren Bennett's family, Alexei Ocana fatally shot his 27-year-old ex-girlfriend in an Anaheim Hills condo Dec. 30 before turning the gun on himself.The 31-year-old's motive? He was upset that Bennett was seeing someone else, according t ... More >>

[UPDATED with I.D.:] Teen Man Burns Hot Coals in Car to Off Himself: Authorities

​UPDATE, NOV. 30, 9:47 A.M.: The "teen" who apparently tried to kill himself by lighting coals inside his gray Infiniti in a Ladera Ranch neighborhood Monday evening has been identified as a 27-year-old Cerritos man who was reported to Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies as missing, depressed an ... More >>

[UPDATED with I.D.:] 76-Year-Old Edward Lee Royle, Upset Over Medical Woes, Apparently Commits Suicide by Cop

​UPDATE, SEPT. 13, 9:41 A.M.: The 76-year-old man who died in his Garden Grove backyard Friday morning after taking beanbag rounds from police officers and a self-inflicted regular gunshot to the head has been identified as Edward Lee Royle. Royle, who family members later said was despondent and ... More >>

[UPDATED with Lawsuit:] William Robert Wedgeworth Hangs Himself in Newport Beach Jail

​UPDATE, AUG. 9, 7:20 A.M.: Last year I brought you the sad story of William Robert Wedgeworth, a 43-year-old Newport Beach man who hanged himself in the city jail.My colleague Nick Schou included the incident in the greater context of OC jail suicides and strange deaths in his Jan. 20 cover story ... More >>

[UPDATED with Players Confirmed:] Susan Schilling, OC Homicide No. 35: One's a Suicide, the Other's a Murder Victim

​UPDATE, AUG. 8, 5:01 P.M.: Buena Park Police investigators believe William Schilling fatally shot his wife, Susan Schilling, before turning the gun on himself in the master bedroom of their San Benito Way home Sunday morning. Police spokesman Corporal Andy Luong blamed the murder-suicide on marit ... More >>

Why (and How) That Extra Slice of Chocolate Cake (and Other Indulgences) Really Does Kill You

Death by chocolate, indeed...​You know how when you're full, really full, but still keep eating, then you go into what's not so much a food coma as it is a food death, where you feel life leaving you for a couple of minutes? That's because your cells are committing suicide--all the fat is screwing ... More >>

[UPDATED: Police Chief Uncertain of Cocaine Involvement] City Employee Commits Suicide, Jumping Off Costa Mesa City Hall

Christopher Victorio/OC WeeklyHuy Pham, in a photo brought to a candlelight vigil for him​UPDATE, MAY 31, 8:16 A.M.: Costa Mesa's police chief, Steve Staveley isn't entirely convinced by the conclusions being made from the coroner reports that Huy Pham had cocaine in his system at the time of his ... More >>

Former Cop's Book Explores Police Suicide

​Clarke Paris wonders if anyone around these parts remembers the North Hollywood bank robbery shootout 14 years ago? Los Angeles TV stations covered the incident live, which ended with both heavily armed perpetrators killed, 11 police officers and seven bystanders injured and extensive damage to ... More >>

Enrique Mengoza Held for Arson After Allegedly Trying to Kill Himself by Burning Down his Home

​A man arrested Thursday morning for setting his own Westminster home on fire, which sent him and three others to the hospital, may have been trying to kill himself, according to authorities.Three hours after the fire was reported around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, 61-year-old Enrique Mengoza returned to ... More >>

Who'll Stop the Pain?

A recent spate of suicides and strange deaths inside Orange County's jails has jail staff and activists alike clamoring for reform

Michael Eugene Upton Sentenced to 50 Years to Life for Murdering His Wife While She Slept

Courtesy of SAPDMIchael Eugene Upton​Back in July 2010, we told you about Michael Eugene Upton, who admitted to police that he shot his wife in the head while she slept. Looking at the guy's mugshot, he seems like the slightly unhinged type, but there does appear to be some goodwill to his story. ... More >>

Fung Yoon, OC Homicide No. 62: Killed by Girlfriend's Ex-Husband, Who Later Killed Himself

​A wild, cross-county shooting rampage Sunday morning ended in Los Angeles' Koreatown, where gunman Young Choi shot and killed himself.Shortly before that, the 54-year-old LA resident shot and wounded another man in Koreatown. And, around 4:15 a.m.--90 minutes before Choi took his own life--he sho ... More >>

UPDATED: Man Commits Suicide By Jumping Off Mickey & Friends Parking Structure at Disneyland

Flickr user Never Cool in School​UPDATE: The man has been identified, see bottom of post.Not many details have been released, but according to the LA Times, an Anaheim police spokesman has confirmed that a man committed suicide on Sunday evening by jumping off one of the upper floors of the Mickey ... More >>

Gay Days Anaheim

Disneyland Parks

[UPDATED:] Another OC Jail Inmate Apparently Hangs Self

​UPDATE: The man who is said to have hanged himself at Orange County Jail has been identified as Stephen Clevenger.Does it seem as if there have been more in-custody deaths at Orange County Jail lately?The latest is a 29-year-old Mission Viejo man who apparently hung himself in his Santa Ana jail ... More >>

William Robert Wedgeworth Reported to Have Hanged Himself in Newport Beach Jail

​We recently told you about the in-custody death of an Orange County Jail inmate.Now, another man has died in a different OC jail.

Forgotten Amid the Apple iPad Hype

Photo by David Bacon​Somehow this must have slipped by amid all the hoopla for the Apple iPad: hours were so long and conditions were so bad for Chinese workers making the gizmos that some committed suicide.That was the motivation behind a protest in front of Apple's flagship San Francisco store o ... More >>

Angels Go Over Suicide Squeeze in Pre-Game Against Those Damn Yankees

Flickr user waldo swiegers​Your Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles have always excelled at the suicide squeeze, but this is ridiculous: About 15 Angels headed for the team bus taking them to today's game against the Yankees (5-0 NY in the seventh as this is being typed) witnessed the aftermath of an ap ... More >>

The Onion: Stouffers To Include Suicide Prevention Tips On Single Serve Microwavable Meals

Stouffers To Include Suicide Prevention Tips On Single Serve Microwavable Meals Ah, The Onion,where every day is April Fools Day. This newest clip from the people who do fake news for a living first debuted last week. It's so brilliant I decided to share it this week, because like I said, it can be ... More >>

Unreported OC Jail Death: Suicide by Hanging or Cover-up?

Michelle Marie Gee, RIP​In a remarkable display of openness, the Orange County Sheriff's Department opened its doors to a group of jail reform activists, lawyers and reporters on Wednesday, March 17. Accompanied by deputies, the group, including this reporter, toured the Orange County Men's Jail a ... More >>

Deaths of OC MMA Fighter, Wife, Suspected to be Murder-Suicide

The LA Times, industry publications the Wrestling Observer and Sherdog and plenty of other sources report that autopsy results are leading authorities to believe that the deaths of an Orange County professional mixed martial arts fighter and his wife were exactly what they appeared to be when news b ... More >>

[Moxley Confidential] DA Rackauckas and Sheriff Hutchens skirmish over investigation of deputy

Sheriff & DA Skirmish Over Suspected Pedophile Deputy

Under the leadership of Mike Carona—our N-word-tossing, fanny-slapping, vodka-slurping, money-hungry, FBI-indicted ex-sheriff—the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) sank into an ethical cesspool. It didn’t make a difference if a deputy was a hard-working public servant (and I know qui ... More >>

Slain Deputy Faced Criminal Charges

Sources tell OC Weekly that the Orange County Sheriff's Department deputy found dead in a car parked in Aliso Viejo yesterday had been the subject of a sex crimes investigation in the District Attorney's office and may have opted to kill himself rather than face arrest. Susan Schroeder at the DA's ... More >>

Appreciation

WEB EXCLUSIVE! Heath Ledger's untimely death, and that milestone performance

LYT's Film Pick of the Weekend 11-2-07

This week's pick is a no-brainer. It's WRISTCUTTERS: A LOVE STORY. I don't think the movie has been promoted correctly -- I haven't seen any trailers, just those annoying li'l wraparound things on the OC Weekly papers. You may have been misled. I caught this movie at AFI Fest last year, when it had ... More >>

How Not to Commit Suicide

Unlucky OC man wanted to die quietly but landed in prison after explosion

4.48 Out of 10

Hunger Artists straitjacket the truth in Sarah Kanes final play

Thats Noose to Him

Rohrabacher presses FBI about hangings

His Own Private Biopic

Gus Van Sant resurrects the ever enigmatic Kurt Cobain with a lyrical blast from the avant-garde

Final Analysis?

Despite official suicide rulings, a San Diego forensic expert says Col. Sabow was murdered

His Brothers Keeper

Suspicious neurologist wins probe of brothers death, which uncovers foul playhis own

Negative Creeps

Murder, He Wrote

Brother alleges county is covering up El Toro colonels murder

Youre a Creep

Remembering Irv Rubin

Empire of the Nonsenses

Who Killed Col. James Sabow?

Was Marine Corps Col. James Sabow the victim of a military cover-up?