Sleek-Jet
Aquarius
HDF Supporter
The Cooler
  
Batavia, IL
Posts: 6,351
APPD 0.79
Post Rank: 11
Big 'Ole Inner-tube
|
 |
Posted: Dec. 19 2003,1:45 pm |
Post # 1 |
   |
Found this in the local paper. Man, those model RR guys sure are a wild bunch.
Coroner rules man's death an accident
By Shane Benjamin
Editor's note: Certain information in this article is sensitive. Parents are cautioned.
Herald Staff Writerand Lindsey JohnsonSpecial to the Herald
A 59-year-old man was found dead in his home Saturday in the 8100 block of County Road 203, north of Durango.
Robert Graham Orr's death was ruled accidental after he hanged himself while engaging in autoerotic activity, said county Coroner Carol Huser. He was pronounced dead at 11:10 a.m. He had a blood-alcohol level of about 0.1 a level that would lead to a drunken-driving offense in Colorado, Huser said.
Orr used devices in conjunction with his body weight to apply pressure to his neck and reduce blood flow to the brain, Huser said. The goal was to achieve a stronger physical response to self-stimulation. When the brain is deprived of oxygen, it releases endorphins chemicals with a pain-relieving effect similar to morphine. These are potent in enhancing pleasure in some people, but the oxygen deprivation is severe and potentially fatal, Huser said.
The pressure cut off the blood flow, asphyxiated Orr and killed him.
An estimated 100 to 200 people die each year from similar behavior, said Dr. Park Dietz, a forensic psychiatrist at the University of California Los Angeles School of Medicine.
Dietz has interviewed people who engage in autoerotic activity regularly, and they describe a "flirting-with-death experience," he said. They know the risks involved, but believe they can control the outcome.
They do not understand one risk, Dietz said: It is possible to suddenly lose consciousness by triggering nerves on both sides of the neck.
"Someone who does this often enough will die this way," he said.
People who engage in autoerotic activity may put pressure on their necks by using only a portion of their weight, and the pressure may not even be perceived as uncomfortable, Huser said. But once they have lost consciousness all their weight bears down on the neck device, causing total blockage of the blood vessels from the brain, she said.
Participants think they will be able to step back, stand up, or release a safety feature on the device to ease the constriction on their neck before losing consciousness, but "you can get yourself in a point of no return very quickly," she said.
"The device does not even have to circle the neck, be hard or tight," she said.
She added, "Any time you apply pressure to the neck you run the risk of inadvertent death."
Huser and Dietz said the risk of death increases when a participant is alone or has used alcohol or drugs.
Huser said deaths from autoerotic activity are rare. But sheriff's Investigator Larry Foukas said deaths happen often enough that most homicide schools dedicate a day or two to study them.
"The biggest problem is that they are often mistaken for suicides," Huser said.
A neighbor called 911 after discovering Orr, Foukas said.
Orr has been active in model railroading for at least 35 years, said John Parker, a friend who has known Orr for all those years. "He's probably the happiest, go-luckiest guy I've ever met," Parker said.
Orr was a support-staff employee at Community Connections Inc., a nonprofit located in Bodo Industrial Park that works with developmentally disabled people.
Parker said Orr moved to Durango in 2000 from Oakland, Calif. His grandfather and father lived here when Orr was an infant. His grandfather and father worked for the McPhee Lumber Co., and Orr was glad to return to the place of his early childhood, Parker said.
Orr visited Fred Folk's home in Bayfield with other model-railroad enthusiasts almost every Wednesday, Folk said. Together, they built a large-scale model railroad at Folk's home. Orr often brought homemade baked goods. "He's a very quiet person," Folk said.
A dog doesn't care if you're rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his.
|
3-10-2025 Three Word Post.....The Next Generation.... (Rep.#19,652) from: GoFastRacer
