N.J. Teen-Agers in Suicide Pact Used Cocaine
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HACKENSACK, N.J. — Four teen-agers used cocaine about two hours before they died of carbon monoxide poisoning in a suicide pact, toxicological reports released Friday showed.
The report also indicated that the amount of carbon monoxide in their blood was more than double what would be considered a fatal dose, Bergen County Prosecutor Larry McClure said.
The teen-agers’ bodies were found March 11 in an idling car inside a closed garage behind a Bergenfield apartment complex.
McClure said a cocaine high usually lasts about two hours and speculated that the four were “on the downside of the cocaine they used.”
“There are a lot of suicidal deaths due to reckless conduct by young people in this age group, and there is a correlation between alcohol, drugs and suicides,” he said at a news conference.
Depression After High
The depression experienced after a cocaine high may have been a contributing factor in the youths’ decision to lock themselves in a garage and breathe carbon monoxide fumes, McClure said.
All four signed a suicide note saying they were depressed and asking to be buried together, authorities said.
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