Monday, November 23, 2009

Laura Lorenz manner of death determined

According to the Office of the Coroner of McHenry County today, the manner of death of Laura Lorenz on November 3, 2009, has been determined.

Under the new law the Coroner's office can conduct a private hearing in its office and determine the manner of death by a meeting of three persons connected with the office. Attendees will be the Coroner and two deputy coroners, one of whom is to be the deputy coroner who handled the case. No witnesses or police appear at the hearing, which is not an inquest.

The determination by the three persons in this hearing was that the manner of death was suicide. This determination confirms information provided to me on November 7. I had been unable to confirm the cause of death prior to the information today from the Coroner's Office and so did not publish an unconfirmed cause.

When the cause of a person's death is suicide, it seems to me that it should be mentioned in the press. For me, there are at least two important reasons.

One is the emotional support that can be extended to survivors by friends and the community.

The other important reason, to me, is that it serves as a reminder to all of us to be on the alert for symptoms that might lead to suicide. When we recognize those symptoms, then we can step forward and attempt to help another person through support, encouragement and, if necessary, intervention.

For information on suicide prevention, visit www.asfp.org for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

For information or for urgent assistance in dealing with a potential suicide, call the McHenry County Crisis Line at 800.892.8900. You can call the Crisis Line for information; you need not wait for a "crisis".

Obviously, in an emergency, dial 9-1-1.

16 comments:

FatParalegal said...

Those that needed to know, already knew. Since you so urgently felt the need to know the cause of death for this women, I ask you, what will YOU be doing to support her family in this time of sorrow? Because that is the only reason I can presume you pursued this matter.

Or maybe you're just nosy.

Gus said...

The reason I pursued this was the absence of reporting in our so-called media in McHenry County.

Many suicides can be prevented by talking about it and being alert to signs, rather than hiding it or avoiding those hard discussions and conversations.

MindlessWizard said...

You're a sick man Frank! Exactly what Whitmore said, those that needed to know already know. This is not news at all, by any means. I hope the family finds a way to come after you and sue you for every penny your worth...which right now in the eyes of many is nothing!

Gus said...

Mindless, then tell me why a woman who was a friend of Mrs. Lorenz in the 1990s did not know until today that she had died. Well, maybe she didn't "need" to know, but ...

Some of you guys ought to get help with your anger issues, particularly before you make a big error some night and draw on the wrong guy.

2horseygirls said...

I have to agree with the first poster - you were begged to leave it alone when you posted the story "Police escorts for funerals" about the usage of marked squad cars in the funeral procession, and now you have refreshed the pain and heartache this family is feeling. Naming names does nothing to raise the awareness of suicide; instead, it raises a whole lot of unnecessary questions that this family will have to face and answer.

It is one thing to take a government agency or elected official or even a business to task over a slight or opinion, but it is quite another to invade the privacy an individual who, conveniently for you, cannot defend herself because she has passed away.

Perhaps Ms. Lorenz had an excellent reason for not speaking to this person in 15+ years. But once again, she is unable to explain her actions because...well, she has passed on.

Might I suggest you use the following guidelines when you have the urge to report on something:

Before you repeat something, offer advice or give your opinion (especially unsolicited), ask yourself these 3 questions:

1) Does it need to be said?
2) Will it hurt somebody?
3) Is it yours to tell or say?

MindlessWizard said...

Who the hell cares! Her obituary was in two major newspapers. What else do you want? A fricken story about somebody who commited suicide? Get off of yourself Frank! Thats beyond sick! You live in a sick twisted little world.

2horseygirls said...

Additionally, I find it intriguing that in the over 2 1/2 years you have had your blog, the only post with the tag 'suicide' is Ms. Lorenz's.

There have been no other suicides in McHenry County in the past 2 1/2 years?

FatParalegal said...

I'm not sure who the angry person is. I did not think that my response conveyed anger.

How incredibly unkind of you to disclose the manner of death of this woman, information that the family obviously did not want shared with the general public, including the "friend from the 1990s".

The public may or may not be entitled to know such information (via FOIA) but I do wonder if you could have shown more compassion for Ms. Lorenz and her grieving family before deciding to publish the cause of death.

sadist said...

Again, when will you learn to respect privacy???

Pamela Whitson said...

Maybe Gus is trying to bring out the fact, that sometimes friends can observe more than family. Family is sometimes to close to see the daily changes.

Friends can be a great blessing to help and maybe give some hope. Laura was life and she gave life to three childdren, we should celebrate life and help those who are in need.

MindlessWizard said...

Gus, at this point I'm begging you, please take this post off. Please see for the family that it just is not needed. Would your family appreciate if your death was posted somewhere so everybody could read about it, especially if it were under these circumstances.

I understand your point about the media and what not, but something this personal should not be published. As you can see, NWHerald, Daily Herald, Chi Trib and Sun Times never have suicides listed in their stories. If your trying to consider yourself media, follow the real media as to what they do.

Please Gus, remove this article!

Karen30036 said...

What the hell ... the article isn't describing the method etc ...or anything that these people should be in such a twist over.

MindlessWizard said...

Karen12359, don't you think the obituary was enough then? Why publish something that states the cause of death? Think with your heart on this one Karen. I'm not a Gus basher, nor fan, but I'm just asking his followers (you) to look at this one a little bit more closely. As in: Have a Heart!

Braff Zackton said...

So important reason number one is that once the media makes it public then "emotional support can be extended to survivors and the community." I'd guess that friends and family would be able to offer support to survivors without & before a cause of death. Also I think by "community" you mean You, and by "extending emotional support" you mean writing about it in you blog. Also to everyone, Gus is not media. Media is bound by laws, ethics, and standards. Gus is a guy with a computer and internet access. He could have passed along information about suicide prevention in any number of ways but I applauded him for finding the most invasive way to do so. And Gus, don't you think about taking this story down. It's like Churchill said, "Never give up, never surrender, never alter thy blog and do the right thing." Wait maybe that was Chamberlain.

horse2no said...

I want to congratulate you, Gus on reporting the rest of the story. All of the "family" does and did not know about the suicide and were told a "story" about her death. Just adds to all the drama and confirms all of the untruths that have been told in the past. There is more to the story than what you have told Gus. Unfortunately, some people don't want to know and admit to the truth and will go to extremes to hurt other family members. Thank you for letting the rest of us know what really happened.

Gus said...

horse2no, thank you for your comment.