TEEN'S DEATH BLAMED ON 'E'

Police Seek Supplier of House Party Drug

EAST HAMPTON -- Makayla Korpinen was a "shining star" in high school who
authorities say fell victim to an increasingly popular party drug.

The 16-year-old died Tuesday after becoming ill from taking Ecstasy at a
house party over the weekend. Police now want to know who supplied the drug.

"It's a broad-focused investigation at this point," Sgt. Garritt A. Kelly
said Wednesday. "We are interviewing multiple people who witnessed the
incident."

Police say Korpinen swallowed a powdered form of Ecstasy at a local house
party and started having violent seizures when she returned to her
boyfriend's house later in the night.

By the time Korpinen was taken to Connecticut Children's Medical Center in
Hartford Saturday, she had lapsed into a coma, Kelly said. Korpinen
remained in extremely critical condition for several days, then died at the
hospital Tuesday afternoon.

The medical examiner's office performed an autopsy Wednesday and listed the
cause of death as "complication of intoxication, substance unknown." No
further tests are planned. But Kelly said his investigators are certain
Korpinen's death was directly related to her ingestion of the drug.

The death of the popular East Hampton High School sophomore cut deeply into
this small Middlesex County community, which, like so many other towns
across the state, is struggling to deal with Ecstasy's rising popularity.

Ecstasy, also know as XTC or E, affects serotonin, a brain chemical that
regulates mood, emotion, sleep, appetite, memory and sexual behavior. The
drug typically produces feelings of euphoria and increased energy and is
also said to suppress the need to eat, drink or sleep. Ecstasy can cause
people to have increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, increased
body temperature, seizures and cerebral bleeding, according to Laura
Caperino-Crean, a nurse and poison information specialist at the University
of Connecticut Health Center's poison control center in Farmington.

"Kids don't realize how dangerous this drug is," Kelly said. "It's like
poison. It's not just about getting high, it's about risking your life."

Students at the high school learned about Korpinen's death when they
arrived for school Wednesday morning. Principal Linda Berry described
Korpinen as a popular student with a ready smile.

"She was a person of beautiful spirit, a shining star," Berry said.

Korpinen was remembered during a mid-morning tribute on the school's front
lawn. Taps was played. School flags were lowered to half-staff.

"It was very moving," said freshman Julie Harris.

Inside the school Wednesday afternoon, a handful of students stood
transfixed before a 5-by-3-foot banner Korpinen's classmates had taped to a
wall in front of the main office. It was one of several tribute banners in
school's main hallway.

"A beautiful angel looking down on all of us," and "We'll always remember
you," one banner read in large green, orange, and purple letters. There
were several pictures of Korpinen on the banner, a bright smile on her
face, her blond locks flowing past her shoulders.

Some students signed personal tributes to Korpinen on the poster. Others
pasted photocopies of poems to her.

"I can't believe it," said freshman Keri Lohr.

Police are not saying who hosted the party Korpinen attended Friday or
where it was held.

Korpinen had run away from home several weeks ago and was living with her
boyfriend at the time the incident happened. Police were not releasing the
boyfriend's name Wednesday.

"Her mother had made significant efforts to try to get her to return home
but unfortunately at that age, 16 to 18 ... there really is no law"
requiring her to return home, Kelly said.

State Child Advocate Jeanne Milstein said Wednesday she plans to
investigate Korpinen's death. She also intends to ask the state's child
fatality review panel to join her investigation.

The panel is made up of a broad range of experts from different fields
including Milstein, Chief State's Attorney John M. Bailey, Public Safety
Commissioner Arthur Spada and Chief Medical Examiner Dr. H. Wayne Carver II.

It was unclear Wednesday how many people have died of Ecstasy-related
deaths in Connecticut in recent years. But Caperino-Crean said the drug
continues to be popular among adolescents and teens and its use is widespread.

As the use of Ecstasy continues, different variations of the drug have
started to evolve, making it even more dangerous, Caperino-Crean said.

"A person who may have taken Ecstasy last year and thought they did OK with
it, could take a different form this year, a slightly different
formulation, that could kill them," Caperino-Crean said.

Calling hours for Korpinen will be held Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Spencer
Funeral Home in East Hampton. Her funeral will be Saturday at 11 a.m. at
Zion Lutheran Church in Portland.