CA - Nikki Catsouras, death photos leaked

[CASuzk]

The California highway patrol does publish graphic images in their own magazine.
My dad received the magazine when he was in the legislature and I was always horrified by how truly awful those photos were and there seemed to be no end the way people could die in a car or on a motorcycle.

 

[Tonia]

Must be doing better,the family has myspace and they have logged in recently. The comments seem happy. It's really sad that this happened to this family. Im sure they relive this ordeal everyday. The case was dismissed against the CHP.

 

[Egoslayer]

Egoslayer, have things gotten any better for this family (as far as the harrassment)?

I think it has for a long time, people don't want to be associated with them because they are very litigious.

 

[Egoslayer]

I've read this as well...didn't her own mother confirm it?

No, her mother denied it in interviews (the ones ive read), but in the 911 calls both parents said she was drunk, but that has never been confirmed or denied.

:shrug:

 

[White Rain]

No, her mother denied it in interviews (the ones ive read), but in the 911 calls both parents said she was drunk, but that has never been confirmed or denied.

:shrug:

I guess we read different ones...here's one, but I have seen this on many sites:
In an interview this week, Lesli Catsouras said Nikki had not been drinking but had used cocaine the night before the crash – only the second time she had tried the drug, her mother said.
"The bottom line is, teenagers sometimes do stupid things,'' Lesli Catsouras said.
Two months before Nikki died, she was hospitalized for three days after trying cocaine supplied by a schoolmate, Lesli Catsouras said. Nikki had an inoperable brain tumor – first detected when she was 8 – that caused her to have a severe psychotic reaction to the drug.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/nikki-catsouras-chp-1965415-donnell-family

Anyway, I can't see how anyone could be so heartless as to taunt her family with these photos. They deserve a special place in hell.

 

[JaneInOz]

I guess we read different ones...here's one, but I have seen this on many sites:
In an interview this week, Lesli Catsouras said Nikki had not been drinking but had used cocaine the night before the crash – only the second time she had tried the drug, her mother said.
"The bottom line is, teenagers sometimes do stupid things,'' Lesli Catsouras said.
Two months before Nikki died, she was hospitalized for three days after trying cocaine supplied by a schoolmate, Lesli Catsouras said. Nikki had an inoperable brain tumor – first detected when she was 8 – that caused her to have a severe psychotic reaction to the drug.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/nikki-catsouras-chp-1965415-donnell-family

Anyway, I can't see how anyone could be so heartless as to taunt her family with these photos. They deserve a special place in hell.

That link doesnt work

An inoperable brain tumour ???????? Ive not read that before - is that legit ?

And well that explains a lot if its true, she took her dads keys which he stated was the first time she had done so and was unlike her, she got angry a lot, they said,
If she had a brain tumor and it shifted and started to press on anything in the brain that controls things, then she could have leadfooted the car becaues of that .....


Please can someone verfiy did Nikki have a brain tumor, was this a contribution to the crash?

 

[Duelist Pearl]

This is the first time I have heard/read anything about this and all I can bring myself to say is....Wow...just Wow!

 

[White Rain]

That link doesnt work

An inoperable brain tumour ???????? Ive not read that before - is that legit ?

And well that explains a lot if its true, she took her dads keys which he stated was the first time she had done so and was unlike her, she got angry a lot, they said,
If she had a brain tumor and it shifted and started to press on anything in the brain that controls things, then she could have leadfooted the car becaues of that .....


Please can someone verfiy did Nikki have a brain tumor, was this a contribution to the crash?

The link works for me...If you google nikki's name and brain tumor you will find plenty of articles.

 

[MagicRose99]

The link works for me...If you google nikki's name and brain tumor you will find plenty of articles.

Link works for me too!

 

[fran]

Wow, thanks for the link WhiteRain! I'd never read about Nikki's brain tumor. Answers a lot of questions, IMO.

This was a local case for me and heartbreaking. I knew kids who went to the same school. Very sad.

These parents aren't out for money. They want this to never happen to anyone else. To have your loved one's death picture plastered all over the internet is unforgiveable. The CHP basically already proved this was wrong by reprimanding the people who were responsible.

It's a shame the parents can't find out who the cyber-bullies are so they could sue them too. They're 1/2 responsible for the continual pain this family endured. Reprehensible.

Brain tumors can alter your personality and as we see from this case, your bodies reaction to certain drugs. My 38 yo nephew had a brain tumor and it altered his personality somewhat, before it was removed.

The fact of the 'brain tumor' makes this case even more tragic, IMO. Hopefully the CHP has learned from this tragic mistake.

JMHO
fran

 

[JaneInOz]

Still doesnt wrk for me
I get

The operation timed out when attempting to contact www.ocregister.com.

I'll just google...maybe its because I am in Australia ? I have had this happen before

 

[anneoakley63]

I think it's awful that the pictures were posted online without the parents permission. At our department we don't release photos of the bodies. We Do however, release photos of the crime/accident scene to insurance company investigators. Once they have them in their hands, we have no control of them and it's well documented that they received the photos.

 

[banedon]

I didn't know her personally but I knew the group she hung out with. Cocaine every weekend (check the toxicology reports) and vodka every day.

Do you have a link to the tox reports online anywhere? I've been looking for copies of them ever since this case hit the news, but haven't been able to find anything other than occasional vague media references.

 

[JBean]

Ruling on Catsouras lawsuit delayed 6-1-2009
Appellate court wants more arguments.

An appellate court ruling on a high-profile lawsuit involving accident-scene photos leaked onto the Internet will not be issued as expected today because justices want more arguments from attorneys.http://www.ocregister.com/articles/catsouras-lawsuit-court-2436517-internet-attorneys

 

[SeekingJana]

From what I can find, the parents allege this:
"As an 8-year-old, Ms. Catsouras was diagnosed with a brain tumor and doctors did not think she would survive. The tumor was benign, but Ms. Catsouras underwent intensive radiation treatment. As a result, doctors told her parents the effects of that treatment on her young brain might show up at some point in the future by causing changes in her judgment or impulse control. Family members told Newsweek magazine they believed those changes may have been why she, the summer before the accident, tried cocaine and ended up in the hospital in a cocaine-induced psychosis. Her family also confirmed she used cocaine again the night before the accident. Ms. Catsouras' parents discussed checking her into a hospital, but decided against it: she was scheduled to visit a psychiatrist the day following the accident, a specialist on brain disorders."


My question- WHO helped this gal get her Driver's license in the first place?? If she had a brain tumor or behavioral problems related to the treatment to shrink the tumor, why did her parents not keep a closer eye on her when it came to high risk behavior like doing cocaine and driving 100 MPH?

I don't see how they have a chance of winning a lawsuit. The photos published are the truth, whether gruesome or not. They weer taken as an accident scene documentation but were used improperly. The two men who released them are no longer with CHP. They were personally responsible for what they sent through their persona email accounts not CHP.

And, to the Catsouras parents who seem to care more about these photos than they do the fact that their daughter drove under the influence of cocaine and died, it seems to me that anyone who knows how to type in her name into Google has already seen the photos. They are being vindictive for no good reason. The accident happened, the public knows and has seen the photos. They need some counseling, IMO. The counseling they didn't get for Nicky.

 

[sindydee]

This is just awful.. I never want to get in a car ever again.

 

[LLC]

I saw the photos when they came out. They haunted me for months.

 

[MagicRose99]

Nicole Catsouras Died in Car Crash; Family Says Pain Compounded by Police Photos of Body

In a unanimous opinion filed Jan. 29, a three-justice panel said a lower court was wrong to toss the suit and rule that the highway patrol and two of its officers breached no legal duty to the Catsouras family. By allegedly e-mailing friends several photos of 18-year-old Nicole Catsouras' decapitated body, the justices wrote, the highway patrol officers may have violated the family's right to privacy and caused them emotional distress, issues that a jury should be allowed to resolve.

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/nicole-catsouras-fatal-accident-photos-web-family-sue/story?id=9731639

 

[Soulmagent]

:furious: :furious: I can only hope that every single person who e-mailed/texted the images to the family one day find similar pictures of a loved one/pet in their cell-phone and e-mail inboxes over and over again! :furious: :furious:

I would hope that no one would have to be an accident like that to have that happen.
The insurance people have leaked photos like this in the past as well as the police or resuce personal.
Our local court house shows a local video of an accident where a hight school student died to all new drivers when they go into the courtroom and get their driving permit. I believe the girls parent signed for it. There are no pictures of her body uncovered. It is a very powerful video. That is not the same as this.

 

[White Rain]

bumping...was thinking of Nikki today out of the blue for some reason.