Found Deceased TN - Jesse Reed, 32, Humphreys County, 5 March 2018

[hblunt]

That BAC is unbelievably drunk, like needs to be hospitalized for alcohol poisoning drunk. What the heck went on that night?

I’ve always wondered how he could have become overpowered by someone and unable to defend himself. Jesse was a veteran, had a very physically demanding job, and seemed physically fit. I knew that BAC level was high, but I didn’t realize just how high that really is. For a BAC of 0.305:

• Speech, memory, coordination, attention, reaction time, balance significantly impaired
• All driving-related skills dangerously impaired
• Judgement and decision-making dangerously impaired
• Blackouts (amnesia)
• Vomiting and other signs of alcohol poisoning common
• Loss of consciousness
• Significant risk of death in most drinkers due to suppression of vital life functions

Publications | National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism | Alcohol Overdose: The Dangers of Drinking Too Much

 

[akazia1978]

I hate to do this to myself, but prior to recovery I entered hospital with a BAC of .45, walking and talking normally. HOWEVER I was an alcoholic. Prior to that the only time I had a BAC of .34 was after doing cocaine. Those are just my recorded BAC's. I was fully functional, in terms of not being dead and able to accurately communicate to others (hospital staff/and detox). It's possible, I know that for fact. I was shocked I blew a .45 on hospital entry. I was also down to 00 BAC in less than 12 hours, which is quick, but you develop tolerance. I am not suggesting he was an alcoholic though.

 

[akazia1978]

Could be that a drunken fight got out of control. I'm not sure I can subscribe to someone forcing alcohol into him. I'm curious what the wife's BAC was....or did they not bother with that? I can't recall if it was mentioned here as it has been a while. I suppose if they were out, someone could have been buying shots with the intention of getting him that drunk. I'm not sure, this is all strictly MOO. I do have a hard time believing that an EMT would drive that drunk, having a license is kinda par for the course....I previously worked as one. And in retrospect that doesn't say much because I was pretty drunk on my off days...but I didn't drive.

 

[2Hope4]

IIRC the wife claimed her and Jesse had been drinking and then riding around afterwards. Whether they were drinking while driving, I don't know. But, it was a time lapse before it was called into 911 that the jeep was in the water. AND, the sheriff said the wife was being minimum cooperative. So there's that.

 

[always reading]

I'm so glad they are investigating. I think most of us know where this is headed.

 

[cutter99]

https://www.atlantainjurylawblog.co...r-death-can-be-false-positive-up-to-0-20.html

Basically what this article says is if fermentation occurs in a corpse, mainly due to the corpse not being kept cool, it can cause blood alcohol levels to rise. Jesse was found in the river in March, when it was still on the cool side in TN. Spring in TN this year was a cold, drawn out, wet affair. We were still get frost towards the end of April, which is NOT normal here.

 

[CTPDMom]

Wow! That's quite the update. I hope his killer is brought to justice swiftly. Will be watching this thread!

 

[Kankan]

I’m surprised there have been no arrest yet

 

[CTPDMom]

Convictions are far more important than arrests. Once an arrest is made, time limits start. Things must be revealed to the suspect. Better to wait for an arrest unless the suspect is an imminent flight risk. Make sure all prosecutorial ducks are in a row, and then the chances of a conviction are far greater than a rush to arrest without it.

 

[2Hope4]

Well, yes LE can wait for an arrest, but the person might commit suicide in the meantime. Like in Lucas's case. No closure, no answers.

 

[alexwood]

I'm thinking that he was dead before that vehicle went into the water. I wonder if it is possible to analyze the water that caused the drowning to see if he wasn't bludgeoned and drowned in a bathtub first, after being heavily under the influence of alcohol, then loaded into the vehicle and driven there and dumped.

 

[Kankan]

I'm thinking that he was dead before that vehicle went into the water. I wonder if it is possible to analyze the water that caused the drowning to see if he wasn't bludgeoned and drowned in a bathtub first, after being heavily under the influence of alcohol, then loaded into the vehicle and driven there and dumped.

That is a great point. I hadn’t considered this scenario. But if you were going to try to cover it up that would be one way. I also wonder how they determine the blunt force trauma happened before the wreck and not caused by it. Since they are saying it was homicide I assume they determined it was a separate incident.

 

[cutter99]

The autopsy would tell if he went into the water alive or dead.

 

[maine2016]

What am I missing here? Date and location of death was March 17th... but, wasn't the "accident" on the 5th/6th of March? (sorry, I read a lot here but don't post... I assume I'm missing something in this case...)

ETA: his body was found on the 17th, I recall that...

 

[CTPDMom]

Nashville firefighter Jesse Reed died from drowning, blunt force trauma

This says he died from drowning, so he had to have been alive when he went into the water. With blunt force trauma as a contributing factor.

 

[Bravo]

What am I missing here? Date and location of death was March 17th... but, wasn't the "accident" on the 5th/6th of March? (sorry, I read a lot here but don't post... I assume I'm missing something in this case...)

ETA: his body was found on the 17th, I recall that...

When body is found it is typically the date on death certificate

 

[cutter99]

Since the article above lists the causes of death as drowning and blunt force trauma, could the blunt force trauma have been caused by the Jeep going off the road and into the river?

Why such a high BAC? Why was he drinking so heavily?

 

[alexwood]

Since the article above lists the causes of death as drowning and blunt force trauma, could the blunt force trauma have been caused by the Jeep going off the road and into the river?

Why such a high BAC? Why was he drinking so heavily?

I can't get over the fact that his wife came out of the accident unscathed, while Jesse ended up dead. I don't think she could have escaped injury if she bailed out of the Jeep that was traveling so fast that Jesse presumably sustained blunt force trauma from the "crash" into the water. Maybe Jesse was already in the water when the Jeep went in. If he was in an unconscious state, brought on by the blunt force trauma, he would have drowned. I think that the vehicle was driven into the river (off a boat launch area?), but not by Jesse because he was already in the river. Odd that those Jeep windows were open when it was found in the river, as if staged to support the theory that he had been in the Jeep, but floated out through an open window. There are many unanswered questions. Water destroys evidence. There was a substantial time lag in reporting the accident. Plenty of time for other evidence to be concealed or destroyed, such as a weapon that could have been used to inflict injury to Jesse. We may never know what happened to him. In my book, it was definitely homicide. A Grand Jury investigation will hopefully be coming before memories fade ("I don't recall").

 

[MsArk]

Too quiet... bumping for Jesse

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

Nashville firefighter Jesse Reed died from drowning, blunt force trauma

This says he died from drowning, so he had to have been alive when he went into the water. With blunt force trauma as a contributing factor.

Too quiet... bumping for Jesse

Thanks for the bump, MsArk. I think of this case often.

What I find most perplexing about this case is the delay between the time the vehicle went in the water and when the 911 call was made.

At the time of the incident, a local reporter posted he had been informed by LE that “the vehicle went into the water up to two hours earlier.”
Burt Scott Staggs

And I still do think there might have been foul play involved.

Then I was reading some of the old articles (primarily those about Jesse’s autopsy report) this morning and noticed something I never did before: It’s the “type of death” that has been ruled a “suspected homicide,” whereas “the manner of death is ‘best classified as could not be determined.’”
Death of Nashville firefighter from Pegram ruled suspected homicide

So with that in mind, by “suspected homicide,” maybe the ME meant as in vehicular homicide or criminally negligent homicide (i.e., driving under the influence).
https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/h...themedicalexaminer/OSCME_CME_Handbook2017.pdf

The tricky part is probably going to be determining who was driving at the time (“It's unclear whether Reed or his wife had been driving the vehicle.”), IMO.
Nashville firefighter's death called a 'suspected homicide'