Arrest in tech exec's heroin death spurs reexamination of Georgia case

Arrest in tech exec’s heroin death spurs reexamination of Georgia case

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Alix Tichelman, 26, left, and her attorney, Athena Reis, in Santa Cruz Superior Court in July where Tichelman pleaded not guilty to manslaughter, destroying evidence and several other charges in the November heroin overdose death of Google executive Forrest Hayes.

(Monica Davey / EPA)

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Alix Tichelman looks back toward her family in the public seating area after her arraignment in Santa Cruz County Superior Court in July.

(Shmuel Thaler / Associated Press)

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Public defenders Jerry Christensen, far left, Larry Biggam and Athena Reis answer reporters’ questions at the Santa Cruz County Courthouse after their client, Alix Tichelman, was arraigned in the death of Forrest Hayes, a Google executive, by heroin overdose in November.

(Shmuel Thaler / Associated Press)

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Alix Tichelman, left, confers with public defender Diane August during a court appearance in Santa Cruz Superior Court on July 9. (Shmuel Thaler / Associated Press)

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A car sits in the driveway of the Folsom house that is listed as the residence of Bart Tichelman, father of Alix Tichelman, who has been charged in the death of Silicon Valley executive Forrest Hayes. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

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A message is taped to the door of the Folsom home that is listed as the residence of Bart Tichelman, father of Alix Tichelman, who is a suspect in the death of Forrest Hayes. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

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This undated photo provided by NorthFulton.com shows Dean Riopelle, 53, who died of a heroin overdose in September 2013 in Milton, Ga., about two months before tech executive Forrest Hayes died of an overdose on his yacht in Santa Cruz. (Jonathan Copsey / Associated Press)

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The house where bar owner Dean Riopelle overdosed Sept. 17, 2013, while at home with his girlfriend, Alix Tichelman, in Milton, Ga. (Ron Harris / Associated Press)

By Joseph SernaStaff Writer

July 10, 2014 10:22 PM PT

A day after Santa Cruz prosecutors charged an escort in the fatal heroin overdose of a Silicon Valley executive, police officials in Georgia said Thursday they were reexamining another drug overdose death in which the escort was a key witness.

Alix Catherine Tichelman, 26, is being held in a Santa Cruz County jail, accused of administering heroin to 51-year-old Forrest Hayes, a former Sun Microsystems, Apple and Google executive, on his 50-foot yacht, the Escape, in November.

That case has prompted police in Milton, Ga., to begin reexamining the September 2012 death of 53-year-old Dean Riopelle, which occurred under somewhat similar circumstances. Tichelman told police at the time that she was in the shower when she heard a “loud crash,” then found Riopelle unconscious.

The Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office determined he died from an overdose of heroin and alcohol. The death was ruled accidental, and Tichelman moved to the Sacramento suburb of Folsom soon after.

“We are reexamining the case to make sure that we did not miss anything,” said Milton police Capt. Shawn McCarty.

Santa Cruz police say that Tichelman maintained a clientele of more than 200 “wealthy and influential” customers — many of whom she met through a website dedicated to connecting clients with attractive young women — and that Hayes was among her clients.

Authorities allege that Tichelman fixed a dose of heroin for Hayes and injected him with it, after which he slipped into unconsciousness and died.

Police and prosecutors say that what happened next was caught by a security camera. After Hayes collapsed, Tichelman cleaned up around his body for seven minutes — picking up drugs and needles and straightening out the bed, according to police. She lifted his limp arm, then dropped it and stepped over his body to finish off a glass of wine — then tried to wipe her fingerprints from the glass, they said.

Authorities are quick to note that they’re not alleging that Tichelman deliberately killed Hayes, but rather that she deliberately avoided helping him.

“The only person Alix Tichelman cares about is Alix Tichelman,” said Santa Cruz Deputy Police Chief Steve Clark.

Hayes’ body was found the next morning by the ship’s captain.

Clark said that when Tichelman was arrested last week, she had a needle full of heroin in her purse. Authorities lured her to a Santa Cruz hotel with the promise of a client willing to pay $1,000 for her company, he added.

Tichelman is charged with manslaughter, several drug-related felonies and destroying evidence. She’s scheduled to be arraigned July 16.

Neither she nor her attorney could be reached for comment.

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