Water Intoxication - Notable Cases

Notable Cases

• Leah Betts died on November 16, 1995 as the result of drinking too much water, though in the media her death was initially attributed to taking an ecstasy tablet at her 18th birthday party.
• On September 12, 1999, US Air Force basic trainee Micah J. Schindler died of heat stroke, severely complicated by water intoxication, two days after becoming seriously ill during a 5.8 miles (9.3 km) march. The Air Force changed its recruit training procedures as a result.
• On June 9, 2002, 4-year-old Cassandra Killpack of Springville, Utah died as a result of water intoxication when her parents forcefully fed her as much as one gallon (3.8 liters) of water in a short period while she was being disciplined. Her mother, Jennette Killpack, was convicted in 2005 of child abuse homicide.
• On October 12, 2002, 3-year-old Rosita Gonzalez of Hollywood, Florida died of water intoxication when her babysitter Nancy Gayoso punished her by forcing her to drink three quarts (2.8 liters) of water in a four-hour period. Gayoso was arrested and charged with murder in the first degree on March 10, 2003. After being declared incompetent to stand trial in 2004 and 2005, Gayoso was found competent on March 26, 2007.
• In 2003, Walter Dean Jennings, a freshman history major at SUNY Plattsburgh, was pledging the Psi Epsilon Chi "when he was forced to drink urine, stay awake for days and consume vast amounts of alcohol during a 10-day initiation and hazing process." According to PressRepublican.com, "On his last night of pledging the unrecognized fraternity, the 18-year-old was forced to drink gallons of water through a funnel, which caused his brain to swell from water intoxication and ultimately resulted in his death." 11 members of the fraternity were charged with criminally negligent homicide
• In a much-publicized case of fraternity hazing, four members of the Chi Tau House at California State University, Chico pleaded guilty to forcing 21-year-old student Matthew Carrington to drink excessive amounts of water while performing calisthenics in a frigid basement as part of initiation rites on February 2, 2005. He collapsed and died of heart failure due to water intoxication.
• On January 12, 2007, Jennifer Strange, a 28-year-old woman and a mother of 3, from Rancho Cordova, California, was found dead in her home by her mother, hours after trying to win one of Nintendo's Wii game consoles. KDND 107.9 "The End" radio station's "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" contest, involved drinking large quantities of water without urinating. A nurse called the radio station to warn them about the danger in which they were putting people, but the disc jockeys rejected the warnings. Lucy Davidson, the winner of the contest, was severely sickened while picking up her prize. Civil charges against the radio station were filed by Jennifer's family, and the family was eventually awarded $16.5 million in the ensuing wrongful death lawsuit. The FCC launched its own investigation to determine if the station violated the terms of its operating license.
• In 2008, Jacqueline Henson, a 40-year-old British woman, died after drinking four liters of water in under two hours as part of her LighterLife diet plan.
• Other notable fatalities due to water intoxication include Australian schoolgirl Anna Wood (although similar to Leah Betts, her death was incorrectly attributed to ecstasy use), 2002 Boston Marathon competitor Cynthia Lucero, and Washington, D.C. police officer James McBride.
• British actor Anthony Andrews survived a case of water intoxication in 2003. He was performing as Henry Higgins in a revival of the musical My Fair Lady at the time, and consumed up to eight litres of water a day. He was unconscious and in intensive care for three days.
• Jonathan Paul Dent, 29, became lost during a four-hour walk through Tasmania's Dial Range on April 19, 2011. He called his wife a number of times to say he was lost. Rescue crews found his body in bushland two days later. The coroner found that Mr Dent most likely died from exercise-associated hyponatremia (EAH), a condition caused by drinking too much fluid during prolonged exercise.