BOS' DEATH BEING LINKED TO COCAINE

Adrianne Claudette Bos likely died as a result of acute cocaine use,
says the doctor who performed the autopsy on the 37-year-old.

A coroner's inquest into the Oct. 27, 2005 death of Bos, who passed
away several days after her arrest and incarceration at the old Port
Alberni RCMP detachment, began yesterday in Port Alberni Provincial
Court.

If someone dies while in police custody, under the Coroner's Act it is
mandatory to call an inquest. While Bos actually passed away several
days later, it was during that brief incarceration that her physical
condition deteriorated. Bos was picked up by local RCMP on an
outstanding warrant on Oct. 23 - the mother of two had an outstanding
cocaine possession charge.

Less than one hour after being taken into custody, the jail guard made
a physical check and found Bos lying on her bunk, showing signs of
seizure.

She was immediately taken by ambulance to West Coast General Hospital,
where she was stabilized and transported to intensive care at Nanaimo
Regional General Hospital. Family members confirmed her death several
days later.

Dr. David Charlesworth, who performed the autopsy on Bos, was the
first to testify at the inquest Wednesday. He told the five-member
jury he performed the autopsy on Oct. 31 and found significant
swelling in Bos' brain, fluid in her lungs, small amounts of bleeding
in the muscles of her heart and a bruise on her tongue.

A condom filled with cocaine was also found inside her
vagina.

Charlesworth said the findings were typical in a person who has had a
severe seizure, which causes the brain to swell and the victim to
involuntarily bite their own tongue.

A toxicology report on Bos found cocaine and "break down products" of
cocaine in her body.

Charlesworth said the findings indicated ongoing and concurrent use of
cocaine and alcohol and that "crack cocaine had been recently smoked."

Cocaine - a direct stimulant on the heart and brain - can cause
seizures, which in turn can stop breathing, causing the brain to
swell. Death can result after just a few minutes of oxygen deprivation
to the brain, the doctor explained.

Charlesworth's opinion is that Bos' death was a "result of acute
cocaine use."

He said her body showed no other natural diseases or
trauma.

The doctor could not speculate on how much cocaine Bos would have had
to use to kill her or how long before her seizures she last took
cocaine. He explained that different people have different tolerance
levels for the drug and how quickly it affects a body depends on how
much is taken and how it is ingested - snorting, injecting, smoking or
eating.

The presiding coroner, Rose Stanton, asked the doctor if there would
be obvious signs that a person had ingested a large amount of cocaine.

Dr. Charlesworth replied that a person may have some symptoms, such as
an elevated heart rate, sweating and agitation, but that they could
easily be missed.

Perhaps the most revealing testimony came from an incarcerated former
Port Alberni resident, Russell Seeber.

Seeber is well known to police in Port Alberni - he is currently
charged with kidnapping, assaulting and robbing Port Alberni lawyer
Randy Reiffer.

Seeber told the jury he had been smoking crack cocaine with Bos for
three days leading up to the evening of her arrest and subsequent death.

He said that on the night of her arrest, Bos had in her possession a
one-ounce rock of crack cocaine she had "cooked up" and divided into
two half-ounce rocks, one of which she stashed in her bra and the
other in her waistline.

Seeber told the jury an ounce of crack would keep an addict going for
a day and a half or longer.

The pair attended a club called Drop Zone that night (Oct. 22). After
leaving the club, the police drove by and Seeber said Bos "freaked
out" because she was carrying drugs on her and had missed a court appearance.

According to Seeber, the police stopped and arrested Bos. He said he
saw her drop one of the half-ounce rocks onto the ground but he
believes she had the second half-ounce package with her when police
put her into the car.

Seeber told the jury and coroner that he believes she swallowed the
second package, although he did not see her do it.

He picked up the half-ounce rock Bos had dropped, took it to a
friend's house and smoked it with them.

Port Alberni RCMP Const. Sandra Lloyd told the inquest she was on duty
the night Bos was arrested and was asked to search the suspect.

When Lloyd arrived to perform the search she was informed by another
officer that Bos had her hands in her crotch area and it was believed
she may have placed something in her pants.

While conducting a cursory search of Bos Lloyd was told cocaine had
been found in the back seat of the police cruiser where the prisoner
had been and there was some concern she may have ingested cocaine.

Lloyd escorted Bos to the female cell area for privacy and performed a
more thorough search, asking Bos to remove her bra, jeans, shoes and
socks.

A bundle of money was found in her bra but no drugs were found during
that search, Lloyd said.

Because Bos was wearing G-string, see-through underwear, Lloyd said it
was not necessary to have her remove her underwear to check for hidden
items in that area.

After having learned that Bos indeed had cocaine stashed inside her
vagina, Lloyd told the inquest only a medical professional can perform
a cavity search and she would not have been legally allowed to do so.

After the search, Bos was booked into a female cell. She asked for a
cup for water but Lloyd said at no time during the booking procedure
did Bos appear unwell or high, nor did she say she felt unwell or ask
for medical attention.

She did lose her balance at one point while taking off her jeans
during the search, but Lloyd said it appeared to be a normal result of
balancing on one foot while undressing.