The body of Terence Leary ’06 was found in a brook under a South Main Street bridge on Tuesday after a distressed phone call to his family prompted a nearly 12-hour search. The state medical examiner has ruled the 19-year-old baseball pitcher’s death a suicide after conducting a preliminary autopsy.
But, Leary’s parents, police and University officials have been hesitant to call the death a suicide, arguing that the possibility of a drug-related accident has not been ruled out.
A member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity and a resident of Butterfield C, Leary’s death has sent ripples across campus. Students filled almost all of the downstairs section of the Memorial Chapel at a Mass on Wednesday afternoon, and about 20 of Leary’s friend’s attended a luncheon at the home of President Doug Bennet and Midge Bennet.
According to Director of University Communications Justin Harmon, Leary called his family members early Tuesday morning and told them he was experiencing an anxiety attack. His parents then advised him to call Public Safety, which he did, and officers accompanied him to the Middlesex Hospital to receive help.
Leary’s mother, Marian Leary, told The Hartford Courant on Wednesday that the conversation she had with her son was enough of a concern to provoke her husband to undertake the two-hour drive from their home in Rockville Centre, N.Y. to Middletown.
Harmon said that the Public Safety officers then waited until Leary had signed in before leaving him in the care of hospital personnel. A spokesperson for the Middlesex Hospital declined to comment on whether Leary received treatment there, citing privacy regulations.
Though what occurred within the hospital remains unclear, Marian Leary told The Courant that she received another call from her son at 1:30 a.m., saying that he had been inside, but had left because he “couldn’t take it.”
After being notified of Leary’s departure from the hospital, Public Safety called the Middletown Police. The police reported receiving the call at 1:45 a.m.
Police then conducted a search of the Wesleyan campus and nearby sections of Middletown with the help of Leary’s father and uncle, Public Safety, Residential Life staff and Wesleyan baseball coach Mark Woodworth.
According to Harmon, Woodworth found Leary’s body at about 12:30 p.m. that afternoon. The body was found in Sumner Brook under the bridge at the intersection of South Main and Warwick streets, about a half-mile from the hospital. The deck of the bridge is 50 feet to 60 feet above the ground.
The state medical examiner’s office has declared the cause of death to be “asphyxiation by submersion after blunt head trauma,” though a spokesperson for the examiner said this ruling may be augmented by the findings of a toxicology report, which might not be completed for another four weeks.
The Courant article reported that Leary’s friends had made statements to Marian Leary regarding her son’s use of marijuana earlier in the evening. Based on the questions raised by these accounts, the University, police and the Leary family are awaiting further evidence before calling the death a suicide.
“It’s important for us to keep in mind that the circumstances that lead up to this appear to be quite ambiguous,” Harmon said. Capt. Christopher Barrow, head of detectives for Middletown Police, said the police are calling it a probable suicide, but will not confirm this designation until full medical examiner’s report has been formally released.
Police declined to release details on the case because it is still under investigation. Barrow also said that information about suicides tends to be kept confidential out of respect for the family, unless suspicious circumstances arise.
“We’ve found nothing suspicious about this case that would cause us to question our original observations,” Barrow said. “All the information we have has been consistent with what we found at the scene.”
According to Director of Health Education Lisa Currie, there are a number of factors that affect an individual’s response to marijuana, including the frequency of use, whether it is taken with other prescription or non-prescription drugs, and the person’s fatigue level and mental state.
She said that marijuana might be cut with other drugs, producing a multiplying effect. For chronic users, Currie said, the THC build-up can result long-term effects such as memory damage, decreased ability to learn and problems with depression and anxiety.
“There are so many variables involved that it’s difficult to say what the chances are that a marijuana user will have a negative reaction,” Currie said, “but it’s not uncommon.”
At the Wednesday Mass, Catholic Chaplain Father Louis Manzo announced that the newly acquired chalice used during the mass would be inscribed with a tribute to Leary.
The Office of Behavioral Health has also been holding extended hours for those who wish to speak with a therapist. The office will remain open this weekend. Students are encouraged to come for support or discussion Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. Students may call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at extension 2910.
A funeral Mass will be held on Saturday at 9 a.m. at St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church in Rockville Centre on Long Island. Calling hours are Thursday and Friday from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. at the Macken Funeral Home, 52 Clinton Ave., Rockville Centre (telephone 516-766-3300).
Buses will be available to transport members of the campus community to the funeral home for the Friday evening calling hours and the funeral. In order to reserve a space on a bus, please contact Lorna Scott at lscott@wesleyan.edu or extension 2772.
There are also plans for a campus memorial service to be held at 4 p.m. on Tuesday in the Memorial Chapel. More information and updates can be found at http://www.wesleyan.edu/newsrel/memorialtl06.htt.