Adults sentenced in helium death of teen girl
MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) - A man and woman who threw a party for teens featuring booze and pot will spend time behind bars for their roles in the death of a 14-year-old Oregon girl who died after inhaling helium.
The two adults dropped their not guilty pleas in Jackson County Circuit Court in Medford on criminal charges stemming from the February 2012 death of 14-year-old Ashley Long of Eagle Point. Prosecutors said they delayed medical attention for the girl, who collapsed from an embolism in the brain that ultimately killed her.
The Mail Tribune reported that Katherine McAloon, 28, was sentenced to 28 months in prison and $300 restitution after pleading no contest to criminal mistreatment and guilty to delivering marijuana and alcohol to minors. Richard Mowery, 33, was sentenced to 90 days in jail and $10,000 restitution after pleading no contest to criminally negligent homicide.
Prosecutors said the pair were not malicious but showed poor judgment.
Authorities said Ashley went with friends to a birthday party at McAloon's apartment in Medford, where she inhaled from a tank of helium to make her voice sound funny. She collapsed after an air bubble entered her blood stream and blocked the flow of blood to her brain. Prosecutors said McAloon and Mowery delayed medical attention
Ashley's family and friends filled the courtroom as her mother read a written statement, saying her life had been changed forever.
"This is all I have left," she said, holding up a small lock of her daughter's hair in a small plastic bag.
Stepfather Justin Earp described Ashley as a bright, compassionate girl who had a 3.5 grade point average, wanted to be a marine biologist and was loyal to her friends.
"She was the type of girl that would befriend the kid in school that no one else would," Earp said.
"Ashley, we all miss you forever, Ashley," Earp read from a letter from one of Ashley's sisters. "I wish I could give you a hug."
The two adults dropped their not guilty pleas in Jackson County Circuit Court in Medford on criminal charges stemming from the February 2012 death of 14-year-old Ashley Long of Eagle Point. Prosecutors said they delayed medical attention for the girl, who collapsed from an embolism in the brain that ultimately killed her.
The Mail Tribune reported that Katherine McAloon, 28, was sentenced to 28 months in prison and $300 restitution after pleading no contest to criminal mistreatment and guilty to delivering marijuana and alcohol to minors. Richard Mowery, 33, was sentenced to 90 days in jail and $10,000 restitution after pleading no contest to criminally negligent homicide.
Prosecutors said the pair were not malicious but showed poor judgment.
Authorities said Ashley went with friends to a birthday party at McAloon's apartment in Medford, where she inhaled from a tank of helium to make her voice sound funny. She collapsed after an air bubble entered her blood stream and blocked the flow of blood to her brain. Prosecutors said McAloon and Mowery delayed medical attention
Ashley's family and friends filled the courtroom as her mother read a written statement, saying her life had been changed forever.
"This is all I have left," she said, holding up a small lock of her daughter's hair in a small plastic bag.
Stepfather Justin Earp described Ashley as a bright, compassionate girl who had a 3.5 grade point average, wanted to be a marine biologist and was loyal to her friends.
"She was the type of girl that would befriend the kid in school that no one else would," Earp said.
"Ashley, we all miss you forever, Ashley," Earp read from a letter from one of Ashley's sisters. "I wish I could give you a hug."
So these two train wreck adults - who intentionally hosted a multiple illegal substance "party' for children - get a slap on the wrist. And that's all.Â
They will both serve less than one year in jail  One colluding train wreck adult was fined  a measly disgustingly PALTRY $300 dollars for her criminal actions of choice - along with a prison sentence that will amount to less than two weeks in jail.  in jail - once the State of Oregon actually figures it all out - progressively.  And the other criminal who deliberately put a child in FATAL HARM'S WAY - has to pay a measly $10,000 in compensation - and serve less than a year in jail?Â
Perhaps in that insanely inadequate time they will both be behind bar they will THINK about a 14 year old child forevermore rotting in the ground - because of them. Or not...Doesn't sound like the State of Oregon really gave a dan*.
WHAT? That is not even a slap on the hand! A girl DIED! They should get more punishment than this!
When committing a CRIME results in someone ELSE's DEATH... there should be a LOT bigger punishment than what they got!! McAloon didn't Just "provide helium", she transported these girls to HER HOUSE, gave them beer and alcohol, and they were stupidly ignorant of the risks. She must have had a DANG good attorney, or she would be serving the same sentence a criminal gets when someone DIES while they are committing a CRIME!! McAloon, in the interim, also got a DUII before 'trial date'. @phyllis21, she got some Serious MERCY, here.
@Pamela You obviously know these people, maybe you should try and calm down. I'm not sure why you are ranting on these old posts.
NOBODY is giving sympathy to McAloon or the guy. But if it really happened the way you say, and McAloon picked up these kids, and drove them to her house to party and this isn't the first time, then Ashley's parents should be taking some of the blame for letting her go there in the first place.
RIP Ashley.
@GladiOla @Pamela @GladiOla, What part about a girl killed do you not understand. They had a party and gave the under age kids alcohol and drugs!
28 months for providing helium to stupid teens. what a waste of taxpayers money. she should try to get a better attorney. i didnt know helium was illegal. Â
@phyllis21 You also 'don't know' How she inhaled the helium, or what the VERY dangerous effects of it can be, especially when mixed with dis-inhibitors like alcohol and pot. Look it up for yourself. (y)
A totally preventable death. Wearing a mask is total stupid, you are asking for trouble to begin with. Not having any air in the mix and inhaling to long can easily result in a medical emergency The relatively harmless act of inhaling from a balloon will give you a funny voice and not kill you. Do yourself a favor and play Musical Chairs for a laugh in leave the huffing to those brain dead glue, propellant huffers.
Unfortunately too many parents/adults throw these type of parties to get the kids loaded so they can sexually assault them.Â
The article didn't say McAloon and Mowery had any kids of their own at the party. I would investigate them further.
@The Resistance VERY preventable. This woman brought teen girls to a party at her house, with ADULT males present, and was giving them beer and pot. She has a couple of younger kids, who are apparently now being raised by their $$grandparents.$$. The MAN charged was the one who held the mask to Ashley's face and told her to "Go ahead! Take a DEEP breath." She laid on the floor for 20 minutes, gurgling, while the older people split, and they 'cleaned up' in the house, --- all the while, other young teens were begging for them to call 911. "Poor judgment"??? INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER, MAYbe. Or worse. She never apologized to the girl's family and has NOT shown remorse until THIS pic (above)!! She has been arrested for DUII SINCE that happened, too, while awaiting trial!! May God have mercy on her. It's hard for me to feel compassion or sympathy for her, but I DO pray that she repents and gets forgiveness from God.
Follow the yellow brick road, follow the yellow brick road.
Here's the weird part:Â It's not illegal to provide helium, or for a child to have it, or for kids or adults to inhale it.
So all the other stuff was just incidental, (and stupid) and they only got caught because somebody wanted to try talking in a high voice.Â
I guess I have dodged a lot of helium bullets.
"Prosecutors said the pair were not malicious but showed poor judgment."
Actually it was not poor judgment, but stupidity. I would hope that most adults realize that givign drugs or alcohol to minors is against the law in the state of Oregon. Hopefully these two will learn from this and remember it. Anyone that is dumb enough to do this, is not responsible to watch kids. Teenages know it is against the law. If your kid wants to drink or smoke dope...tell them when they are old enough they can. Until then they need to pay attention and obey the laws.
Â
The two adults that had the party.... Dumbasses
The two parents of the 14 year old...Dumbasses.
They should be thrown in jail also for being stupid..
Uhh I did not know my minor daughter was drinking, doing drugs... Not buying it parents. Your little angle had problems and you and you as the parent were nowhere in sight.
@dkgiovenco You are a judgemental dumbass yourself.
Yes I know, because I would have known if my now two adult children were out drinking and doing drugs at age 14 and they would have severely been disciplined and alive today to thank me (maybe) but they would be alive. Â So if that is that price I have to pay to be a dumbass, I'll take it.
@EdgarDerby@Pamela and on that note Edgar while I disagree with your larger paragraph, a child dieing playing tag or drowning that was properly supervised is no more than a tragic accident. Bringing Pamela into the mix, it appears she has some inside info to the whole story and that indeed the child lied to her parents. I even mentioned that if they did not know about what was going on, I can forgive that and am so sorry for their loss. You nailed it on the parents that threw the party, complete idiots and they got off light. Also I am sorry about an earlier post, you and I are going back and forth explaining each side the way we see it and while you were more gracious in your postings, I was not. Treat others the way you would like to be treated, I lost focus on that.
@dkgiovenco @EdgarDerby We're just circling around the same arguments here, but let me try again, hopefully just one last time. Â
No doubt the couple who threw the party are idiots. The desperation to be the "fun parents" is so pathetic and obviously cost them big. But why are you so insistent on focusing on the pot/alcohol aspect of all this when that's not what killed this poor girl? Those are just side stories. The bottom line is that, you can know the all background of the party your daughter went to, down to every last miniscule detail, but that still would not have prevented this accident, unless you had a crystal ball. If your child was running around in the yard playing tag with friends at a party when he/she accidentally falls and breaks their neck, instantly dying, would you blame the party-throwing parents for providing a yard to play in? If a kid accidentally drowns in a swimming pool party (assuming no foul play), do you blame the owners of the pool? What if a kid critically injures himself while running with scissors at school? Do you sue the school district? According to your argument, we should also blame the kids' parents for letting their kids play tag, swim, and run with scissors.
The fact that the adults sentenced to prison terms delayed medical treatment for Ashley is despicable. Who knows, maybe if Ashley got the treatment she so desperately needed, she may have lived. Likely with brain damage, but still alive. And for that, those 2 adults deserve far worse prison terms than what they got. But I don't buy your random baseless accusations of everybody, including Ashley's parents. Â
@dkgiovenco @EdgarDerby TRUTH IS, that ADULTS threw a party, McALOON transported three young girls to HER home for it, supplying the alcohol, beer, and YES--the helium. There were ADULT males at this party, so what was the motive for all of this???
Ashley had NEVER partied before. She decided to lie to her parents, as did her two friends, and They thought she was just down the block at a TRUSTED friends house, spending the night. This was NOT an unusual thing for her to spend the night there, or for the friend to spend the night at HER house. They had NO IDEA that she had lied to them and decided to go off on an "adventure" and experiment with partying.
Ashley's parents are GOOD parents and did NOT have reason to doubt that she was telling them the truth.
I have grown children, also, so I know the drill. I have teen grandchildren. No matter how careful you are, if a kid wants to, they will FIND a way. I was also a teen Once-upon-a-time.
Yeah, Ashley drank beer and smoked pot, and was dis-inhibited enough to not resist the [adult] peer pressure when encouraged to try it. Other teens there said she didn't want to at first. But she made a choice, and it was her LAST one.
THAT woman allowed her to lay on the floor for 20 minutes, gurgling, dyind!-- while the adults and some teens left, and the house got 'cleaned up' a bit... all while her friends were CRYING, and BEGGING someone to call 911!!
YES these people were DUMBA**-es!! They should have both gotten a LOT more punishment than they did.
Tragic, too for McAloon's young kids who have suffered enough with HER DUII, drinking, and are getting raised by wealthy grandparents. She has shown NO Remorse until this photo of her at sentencing... if she WAS remorseful and not just scared and feeling sorry for herself.
I have to just PRAY, both for them, and for my own anger towards them...forgiveness.
@EdgarDerby  What I understand is " A man and woman who threw a party for teens featuring booze and pot" "she inhaled from a tank of helium to make her voice sound funny. She collapsed after an air bubble entered her blood stream and blocked the flow of blood to her brain." and a young woman died, so wrong on so many levels. The adults condoned it, the parents allowed it OR if they did not know anything about it, that I can forgive. As a Parent when my daughters wanted to go to a party , I knew the background. I do not think that the two convicted adults woke up one day and said HEY! lets get a bunch of pot and booze and a tank of helium and throw a party for some teens. I think their stardom to being head dumbasses start long before this event.Â
I don't think you even understand the situation here. People inhale helium on a daily basis without any problems. An air bubble travelling up to her brain and hemorrhaging is what killed her, not drugs or alcohol. If the adults hosting the party weren't so stupid to provide pot and drugs and delay medical treatment for this girl, they wouldn't be charged even if Ashley died. It would be labeled an accident, because that's what it was.Â
@EdgarDerby@dkgiovenco Drugs, alcohol, inhaling helium was no accident. Which part of "Adults sentenced in helium death of teen girl" did you miss. Another one that just flew right over your head was " my now two adult children" I was there so your perceived accidents weren't.
@HenryBowman Thanks
@dkgiovenco No. By the time you found out, they would've been dead. Plus, your argument makes no sense since Ashley didn't die from drinking alcohol or smoking pot. Discipline doesn't prevent accidents.
@dkgiovenco Consider this a second 'Like'.
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@feralI am assuming that you are joking?  Helium is naturally occurring Element......How do you propose making that illegal?
@feral It's getting hard to find. The price of helium doubled recently and for a long while you couldn't get it at gift shops or the Dollar Tree.
We should switch back to hydrogen. It's a lot more fun anyway.
She clearly wasn't all that bright - otherwise she wouldn't have been playing Russian roulette with helium, with permission from adults just as idiotic.Â
Oh well, a few less substance abusers - current and future - out of the population. No great loss.Â
It's just too bad that calling something "negligent" homicide devalues the impact of those committed true homicide - y'know, the kind with actual murderous intent, not random stupidity.
@starshadow What horrifying insensitivity you show for the grieving parents. Parents don't love their children less for being "not that bright" or substance abusers. No great loss would be you out of the gene pool; if you haven't procreated yet, do the world a favor and don't start.
@gofigure @starshadow I'm actually RAISING my kids, not letting subsidized schoolcare do it - and it wouldn't occur to any of the three teens to go get drunk OR play with helium.Â
The parent's choices led to this, so of course I have no sympathy. They chose not to teach their child better, nor did they care enough to pay attention to where that child was or what she was doing. Sympathy? Hell no. The parents didn't do their damn job and PARENT, and THAT is why this kid is dead.
@starshadow
"Oh well, a few less substance abusers - current and future - out of the population. No great loss." Â What a jackass. Â I hope when karma bites your ass, it only strikes at you and not someone who mistakenly loves you. Â Scumbag.
@Diogenes Oh, oops -- I got Shadow and Starshadow mixed up....won't bother deleting though, because the thread on the other story is interesting.
@Diogenes @starshadow When karma strikes him, he's gonna be in the slow lane hindering traffic.  You have to scroll down a ways....... http://www.katu.com/news/local/Portland-drivers-Frustrated-but-relatively-road-rage-free-195649401.html?hubRefSrc=email#lf_comment=61436514
Fourteen year-olds who are drunk off their arses are rarely that bright. But they are 14. The 28 year-old should know better. "No great loss". Such compassion.
Well now, aren't you the "cool ones" now. There are no winners here but grownups who provide a place for a party for underaged kids are fools.Â
Does anyone else see this as wrong? The woman was sentenced to 28 MONTHS for negligence and pot/alcohol to minors and the guy got 90 DAYS for homicide? WHAT THE HELL is wrong with this judge? These people put a party on specifically for children, they gave them alcohol and drugs. Someones child died as a result of their stupidity... They should be serving far more time. Just my 2 cents. Failure in justice.
@MissDB7 I am TOTALLY with you on this!! [see my post above in reply to dkgiovenko]. This was wrong in SO many ways. Amazing what a good lawyer can do for ya. :(Â
At the time this incident happened, it was very clear the girl arrived at the party so drunk she could barely stand. Â That was before the helium part. Â There are no innocents here, just a ton of poor decisions.
@Sundowner Here's the part alcohol plays:Â
"HEART: Your pulse quickens after just one unit. Alcohol is a vasodilator - it makes the peripheral blood vessels relax to allow more blood to flow through the skin and tissues, which results in a drop in blood pressure. In order to maintain sufficient blood flow to the organs, the heart rate increases. Your breathing rate may also speed up."Â http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/what-alcohol-really-does-to-your-body-516050.html
That bubble was probably speeding through her system, and there really wasn't time to react like people wanted it to happen.Â
I'm not defending these people, but society needs to understand that alcohol does a lot of damage to the body with just one drink.Â
@washcomom I recall at the time being very concerned about the girl's parents not acknowledging that the girl's involvement in drinking/driving BEFORE the party played a significant part in the entire event.  It was on a different news site and I got b***h-slapped for my comments.  Nothing new with that!  =)
@Sundowner @washcomom Ashley didn't drive. She made some poor choices, yes. She was not a 'party-er' and this was the first time she had ever lied to her parents and decided to experiment with partying. Ashley and her friends were TRANSPORTED by McAloon from EP to Medford, beer and pot provided by HER. McAloon picked those girls up when they were SOBER.
I could not put myself in the parents' position and do/say everything "right", afterward. They were in shock and grief...still ARE, for that matter. Her parents DID acknowledge that she had never lied to them or done anything like that before. Obviously, drinking beer-especially!- played a role in her death. But death by helium can happen without alcohol.
It's a tragedy in many ways... but Ashley is the one who didn't SURVIVE it.
@Sundowner Â
Where do get "arrived at the party so drunk she could barely stand" ?
@ormom Surprisingly, I'm not new to the whole "reading the news" thing and I have a memory.  It was reported ad nauseum at the time of the incident.  http://www.kval.com/news/health/My-daughter-didnt-want-to-do-it-It-was-peer-pressure-140071083.html .  Beyond this link, do your own research.
@Sundowner @ormom You're ALSO arrogant!! If you knew what the kids who were THERE said and experienced, you MIGHT be able to get away with an asinine statement like that. You believe everything you read in newspapers or hear on news?? You didn't see her parents four months after her death on a well-known National morning show?
YOU didn't KNOW Ashley or the circumstances. You're basing your opinions on 'news'...okay. Whatever. Everyone has a right to their opinion. I'm just as opinionated as you. ; (
They were "not malicious, but showed poor judgment"? So that makes it OK?
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@Dr. Rawdog @jpk If you can call 90 days any sort of punishment for taking part in a death.
@Dr. Rawdog @Peregrine @jpk They deserved a LOT more, esp. McAloon!
@EdgarDerby @Playanekes Well, you're certainly a buzzkill.  Bet you don't get invited to ride in Playa's plane. Nanny, nanny goatee goat.
@Playanekes @Peregrine @Dr. Rawdog @jpk Yes it is. I'm tracing your IP and calling the police on you.
@Peregrine @Dr. Rawdog @jpk It's not illegal to inhale helium, is it?