Found Deceased FL - Kelly Glover, 37, visiting from Utah, Ft Lauderdale, 9 Jan 2020

[Seajay]

The Ambien idea has only been a suggestion based on her behavior according to MSM. No shoes, water bottle, shawl, door left ajar, going down stairway to lower level. These are the moves of someone who is not aware of what they are doing.

Now, since her father said she sleepwalks and has since childhood, that makes sense and goes with the idea of not being aware of wha she was doing. On a side note: Why would her father say she would sleepwalk if it wasn’t true?

 

[PommyMommy]

How long do toxicology reports take? Are they released to the public?

Welcome to Websleuths, Pickyparker. It can vary by lab and type of testing but generally, 6-8 weeks, I believe. MOO

More information here: Programs & Services

 

[distracted]

I have a question. If she was sleepwalking and she wasn't under the influence of anything, wouldn't entering the water wake her up immediately? She might be disoriented at first but I'd like to think she would figure it out pretty quickly.

My husband used to take Ambien and I could not wake him up when he was sleepwalking or sleep driving. I can't describe how frightening it is. And he doesn't sleepwalk at all now or before he took Ambien.

 

[Knox]

I have a question. If she was sleepwalking and she wasn't under the influence of anything, wouldn't entering the water wake her up immediately? She might be disoriented at first but I'd like to think she would figure it out pretty quickly.

My husband used to take Ambien and I could not wake him up when he was sleepwalking or sleep driving. I can't describe how frightening it is. And he doesn't sleepwalk at all now or before he took Ambien.

Sleep driving? Oh carp that's horrifying!!!

 

[Seattle1]

<modsnip: quoted post was removed>

Actually, I'm a hotel guest right now (Westin is owned by Marriott, Int'l) and confirmed that there is a door log each time door is opened using the ROOM KEY but NOT when the door is opened from the interior to exit the room.

However, if the door is propped open for a period of time there will be a security alert that a guest door is open and/or did not latch closed. It sounds like this is what KG did -- extended the secure guard to prevent the door from closing shut. What is surprising about this according to my hotel staff is that nobody called or went by the room if the door was truly propped open for more than 2 hours.

That was a dangerous move for KG to leave the room door unsecured with her friend left sleeping inside. MOO

 

[firebird]

I have a question. If she was sleepwalking and she wasn't under the influence of anything, wouldn't entering the water wake her up immediately? She might be disoriented at first but I'd like to think she would figure it out pretty quickly.

My husband used to take Ambien and I could not wake him up when he was sleepwalking or sleep driving. I can't describe how frightening it is. And he doesn't sleepwalk at all now or before he took Ambien.

Ambien is just an amnesiac, so I would think being submerged would cause a normal reaction as though she were awake -- even though she might not remember anything about how she got in the lake.

 

[Seattle1]

On a side note: Why would her father say she would sleepwalk if it wasn’t true?

^^sbm

I don't know a father that would not want to protect the image and/or memory of his daughter if he believes suicide would have a negative impact on her reputation or darken her memory.

Meaning no disrespect whatsoever, there's also a financial consideration. Life Insurance may not cover suicide. Also, if he believes she accidentally fell in the water because of insufficient guards around the lake, suicide would impact any wrongful death action against hotel. Same if seeking legal action against makers of Ambien.

MOO

 

[Seajay]

^^sbm

I don't know a father that would not want to protect the image and/or memory of his daughter if he believes suicide would have a negative impact on her reputation or darken her memory.

Meaning no disrespect whatsoever, there's also a financial consideration. Life Insurance may not cover suicide. Also, if he believes she accidentally fell in the water because of insufficient guards around the lake, suicide would impact any wrongful death action against hotel. Same if seeking legal action against makers of Ambien.

MOO

If he was to go that route, he’d need doctor documentation that she was a sleepwalker to begin with. And at that, it might negate any claims of fault on the part of the hotel if there was documentation she sleepwalked as a child. IMO

 

[Seattle1]

If he was to go that route, he’d need doctor documentation that she was a sleepwalker to begin with. And at that, it might negate any claims of fault on the part of the hotel if there was documentation she sleepwalked as a child. IMO

I think just the opposite. More difficult to claim hotel negligence if a guest intentionally climbed over the guard fence and jumped in the lake to drowned herself whereas a sleepwalker that aimlessly walked into the lake because there was no barrier to stop the sleepwalker would most likely have reason to claim the hotel negligent. (I've seen both allegations the area fenced and unfenced -- no confirmation either way).

 

[Seajay]

I think just the opposite. More difficult to claim hotel negligence if a guest intentionally climbed over the guard fence and jumped in the lake to drowned herself whereas a sleepwalker that aimlessly walked into the lake because there was no barrier to stop the sleepwalker would most likely have reason to claim the hotel negligent. (I've seen both allegations the area fenced and unfenced -- no confirmation either way).

It’s just weird. It being a hotel and all, and sleep being primarily why people get a room (among other things but we aren’t talking about that), sleepwalking can’t have been an issue for the first time now. And I’m sure a bank of lawyers wrote documents renters had to sign that would absolve the hotel chain of any liability. Of course, anyone can sue anyone over anything, so I’m not saying it can’t be done, I’m just saying that hotels probably have limited or no liability legally because of papers guests sign when they check in. IMO

 

[Seattle1]

It’s just weird. It being a hotel and all, and sleep being primarily why people get a room (among other things but we aren’t talking about that), sleepwalking can’t have been an issue for the first time now. And I’m sure a bank of lawyers wrote documents renters had to sign that would absolve the hotel chain of any liability. Of course, anyone can sue anyone over anything, so I’m not saying it can’t be done, I’m just saying that hotels probably have limited or no liability legally because of papers guests sign when they check in. IMO

It's a very sad situation but the irony of how an experienced world traveler would sleepwalk to her death when she was traveling with a friend. It's unbelievable! She's been traveling on business for her employer of more than 11 years and probably traveled mostly on her own. What made this trip different?

 

[margarita25]

How long do toxicology reports take? Are they released to the public?

Six weeks is an average number, sometimes sooner, 4-6 weeks. Moo.

The general findings are sometimes released. I would anticipate those findings would be released here. As for the full report, sometimes this is done. In Elisa Lam’s case, a member had to request and pay for the report, iirc, I thiiiiiink. Need to double check that.

 

[katydid23]

This is not meant to be accusatory in any way, but I still find it so odd that her husband was reportedly not contacted until the following morning. I believe the information that has been released said 9am, but I don’t think it was clear if that was FL or UT time.

That is, her friend found her gone from the room at 4am EST, reportedly the hotel is informed and police are contacted right away, and then somewhere between 5 and 7 hours pass before anyone contacts her husband. I know we all react differently in stressful situations, but if I woke up to my friend missing and the police were contacted, their significant other is the next person I’d be contacting immediately.

Ummm, I'm not sure if I would call her husband in the middle of the night, If I wasn't sure that maybe she hadn't slipped out to meet up with someone I didn't know about....I don't know, it depends upon the total circumstances, I guess.

 

[GraceG]

Welcome to Websleuths, Pickyparker. It can vary by lab and type of testing but generally, 6-8 weeks, I believe. MOO

More information here: Programs & Services

Yes, but they are not required to be automatically and publically released. There are laws affecting this at both the state and federal level, but by default, most government records are open for public inspection in the United States.
An example of one state's laws with this regard is California Government Code §§ 6250-77, which provides that:

Except with respect to public records exempt from disclosure by express provisions of law, each state or local agency, upon a request for a copy of records that reasonably describes an identifiable record or records, shall make the records promptly available to any person upon payment of fees covering direct costs of duplication, or a statutory fee if applicable. Upon request, an exact copy shall be provided unless impracticable to do so.

The records "exempt from disclosure" are listed at Section 6254 and include:

Records of complaints to, or investigations conducted by ... any state or local police agency.

California courts have interpreted the law as generally requiring autopsy reports to be disclosed upon request, but exempt from disclosure when the autopsy is part of a law-enforcement investigation:

 

[bears10]

Six weeks is an average number, sometimes sooner, 4-6 weeks. Moo.

The general findings are sometimes released. I would anticipate those findings would be released here. As for the full report, sometimes this is done. In Elisa Lam’s case, a member had to request and pay for the report, iirc, I thiiiiiink. Need to double check that.

my brother passed at the end of March, and we didn’t have an official cause of death until the beginning of August. Toxicology was the hold up. This was also in Florida.

 

[Jewel78]

My husband has a history of sleepwalking, usually triggered by stress or lack of sleep. Now my daughter has also started sleepwalking. We were staying in a hotel and I had forgotten to close the top latch of our hotel room door that keeps the door locked. Around 2am I thank goodness heard the door click and woke up to find my eight year old daughter in the hotel hallway.
My husband once, before we had met, woke up and found himself sitting in his car, luckily he didn’t try to drive it!
Sleepwalking is some scary stuff!

 

[Seattle1]

my brother passed at the end of March, and we didn’t have an official cause of death until the beginning of August. Toxicology was the hold up. This was also in Florida.

Sorry for your loss @bears10. I've seen quotes on the thread of 6 weeks for tox results but I thought it was closer to 5-6 months. It seems some state labs are busier than others.

 

[NoSI]

Ambien is just an amnesiac, so I would think being submerged would cause a normal reaction as though she were awake -- even though she might not remember anything about how she got in the lake.

I agree. I would expect the same... Found this applicable article .... Sleepwalking May Have Led to N.J. Woman's Drowning

"Hitting the water and not being roused is unusual. We usually expect a person to wake up after that kind of stimulus," Dr. Helene Emsellem, director of the Center for Sleep and Wake Disorders in Chevy Chase, Md., told ABC News. "It's hard to know whether she was awakened by that impact or not."

 

[ACG2x]

Sleep driving? Oh carp that's horrifying!!!

The stuff is crazy. My wife took Ambien for about a week when she had some severe insomnia about 12-14 mo. after our first child was born. She would wake up and be groggy for hours and couldn't feel "right" until halfway through the day. The night she decided to stop taking it was when she woke up in the middle of the night. I could hear her mumbling next to me and woke up. Asked her what was up. At the time, we lived in a townhome that had an oversized master bedroom that was actually two rooms in most units but the previous owner decided he wanted one huge one so the TV was way across the room - probably 10-12 feet.

She started talking to me in clip chop sentences asking why the TV was so close to our bed. I look over and see it's in the same place as always. I tell her and notice she's looking at but through me like I'm not there. She keeps saying the TV should be put back in it's normal place and then goes to get up to walk towards it and nearly walks into the wall. I go grab her arm and try to guide her back to bed and she starts freaking out that the TV and other objects in our bedroom are too close among other nonsensical things. She was almost yanking her arm away from me and wanted to walk away. Our bedroom was close to the second floor stairs which were a single flight of steep stairs so now I'm convinced she could fall down and injure herself so I had to force her back to bed and stayed up making sure she fell back asleep.

The next day she didn't remember any of it but did say she had several nightmares about things I can't remember but it sounded insane. I described the previous night again and she had zero recollection. It was at that point that she called her PCP and was told to immediately flush all remaining Ambien and come in for an exam and they'd find an alternate sleep aid.

Not as extreme as some of your experiences on here but still scary to think about what could've happened had I not been there or woken up.

 

[Ravenesque]

hmmm...so her dad says she sleepwalked all throughout her childhood, but her husband says she never did. how can those 2 things be synonymous? can one outgrow sleepwalking? (honest question, i do not know.)

I used to sleepwalk when I was younger. My mom had to sleep on the couch for fear I would leave the house. I have not walked in my sleep for 30+ years.