IN TRAGEDY'S WAKE

North Richland Hills woman's fatal heroin overdose brings variety of
reactions from family and friends

NORTH RICHLAND HILLS - Two weeks ago, Mike Drysdale said he felt sorry for
Kristen Taylor, a recovering heroin addict in search of a job and,
ultimately, a way to put her life back together.

"Who's going to hire somebody that's been a drug addict?" he said.

Mr. Drysdale said Wednesday that those sympathetic feelings changed this
week after he learned that Ms. Taylor, 19, had apparently once again
overdosed on heroin - and this time it killed her.

"Today it's anger, it's not sympathy," said Mr. Drysdale, who teaches at
Birdville's Shannon Learning Center alternative school, where Ms. Taylor's
mother, Barbara, also teaches. Mr. Drysdale said he was angry with Ms.
Taylor for the heartache she had caused her parents

"They've gone through the ringer," he said. "They gave Krissy so many
opportunities, and . . . I think she made a choice of drugs."

Ms. Taylor died Tuesday in a North Richland Hills motel room, the apparent
victim of an overdose, according to police.

"It was a shock to know that it happened," Mr. Drysdale said, "but then
again, deep down, you could almost see it coming."

Her death has wrung intense emotions from school leaders, parents, police
and students. From anger to remorse, helplessness to hope, northeast Tarrant
County residents are reacting in different ways to Ms. Taylor's death.

Heroin or other drugs have probably played a role in the deaths of at least
four northeast Tarrant County residents this month, police say.

Ms. Taylor's death occurred on the same day that approximately 250 parents
and students attended an anti-drug forum sponsored by the Birdville school
district.

Ms. Taylor spoke at a similar event the district sponsored in April,
officials said.

Both Barbara Taylor and her husband, Tommy, knew of their daughter's heroin
addiction and did everything they could to help her beat it, Mr. Drysdale
said. The Taylors said they hope their daughter's death serves as a warning
to teens and families.

"We want our lives to count," Mrs. Taylor said. "If one life is saved, that
is a good thing."

Mr. Taylor serves on the H-E-B school board and is a teacher at O.D. Wyatt
High School in Fort Worth.

"I also think it could happen to anyone if it could happen to us," said
Christi Shatto, 26, one of Kristen's two sisters. "I thought we were the
Beaver Cleaver family."

Ms. Taylor started using drugs when she was 16 and a junior in high school,
her family said. In stark contrast to stereotypes about drug users, she
excelled in school and even graduated early. She easily kept her drug use a
secret from her parents and authorities - at least for a while.

In her senior year, she realized she could no longer control her use. She
checked herself into a hospital and told her parents she needed help. She
attended Tarrant County Junior College for two semesters after graduating
from Bedford's L.D. Bell High School.

But her recovery efforts were marred by repeated relapses. She was ordered
to a treatment facility in Little Rock, Ark., this spring. She returned a
few weeks ago and had been clean for almost eight months, Mrs. Taylor said.

Ms. Taylor wanted to re-enroll at Tarrant County Junior College this January
and take business classes. On Monday, she attended a rehabilitation class in
Fort Worth. That evening, she told her boyfriend on the phone that she was
going to buy drugs for the evening, said North Richland Hills police Sgt.
Mike Young.

He said her boyfriend, Thomas Cathey, 21, was disappointed and left the
hotel room they were sharing with another friend, Luis Martinez. Ms. Taylor
returned to the room at 11 p.m. and went to bed.

Mr. Martinez, 18, who was sleeping in the room, heard her snoring early
Tuesday morning, but when he checked on her at 9 a.m. her body appeared cold
and her lips discolored, Sgt. Young said. She was pronounced dead at North
Hills Hospital in North Richland Hills.

Fresh needle marks were visible on her arms, Sgt. Young said.

Lisa Crago, a Saginaw parent who attended Birdville's drug forum, said she
was having a hard time dealing with Ms. Taylor's death. She said one of her
family members died of a drug overdose.

"I . . . was very touched by it," she said. "I didn't know her, but I felt
like I did."

Said Charla Arney, 14, a student at Apollo, one of Birdville's alternative
schools: "It's not surprising to me at all because it [heroin] is all
around. Once they start doing it, they don't think about anybody else."

Toxicological tests are pending.

Services for Ms. Taylor will be held Thursday evening at Lucas Funeral Home
in Hurst. Burial will be 1 p.m. Friday at Shady Grove Church in Grand
Prarie.

Checked-by: Don Beck