An autopsy conducted Monday, Dec. 11 concluded that Henry's death was due to fatal injuries consistent with a fall. The death was found to be self-inflicted.
UPDATE: The body of 22-year-old Erin Elizabeth Henry was found at the bottom of Elephant Rock, just south of the Westhaven exit on U.S. Highway 101, according to Arcata Police Chief Tom Chapman.
Chapman said Henry’s body, found in a small ravine under the rock that wasn’t visible from the highway, showed signs of trauma. Investigators believe she may have fallen or jumped off the rock, Chapman said.
An autopsy is tentatively scheduled for Monday and Chapman said the investigation will remain open until he receives full results, including toxicology tests. Based on the condition of Henry’s body, Chapman said it appears she has been there for some time, likely since shortly after she was last seen.
Chapman reiterated that there are no signs of foul play in the case, though he said it remains unclear exactly how Henry, who had a broken ankle and was apparently travelling on a knee scooter, made it the 13 miles from her home to Elephant Rock. “Certainly, that’s an outstanding question that we need to try to resolve as best we can — it is quite a distance so the likelihood of her walking that distance seems remote,” Chapman said.
Henry was a noted theater standout during her time at HSU, which included this performance of Julius Cesar, which drew a rave review from Pat Bitton.
PREVIOUSLY:
Police have found the body of a Humboldt State University student who went missing from her Arcata home last month off U.S. Highway 101 south of Westhaven and report they’ve found no signs of foul play.
The Eureka Police Department has determined that an 18-year-old girl found dead in December of 2016 died of asphyxia and is investigating the case as a homicide.
On Dec. 9, 2016, medics were summoned to a residence in the 300 block of P Street and arrived to find Jennika Lee Suazo, a student at Zoe Barnum High School, dead.
After the death, detectives began investigating the other 22 people who resided at the P Street residence. Autopsy results returned in June confirmed the cause of death and EPD has proceeded with its homicide investigation. It’s not immediately clear what spurred EPD’s press release (copied below) some five months later.
The department is still waiting on DNA test results.
The Eureka City Council voted in favor of several waterfront projects Tuesday night, including the commitment of city funds to complete Waterfront Drive between G and J streets and authorizing staff to negotiate a lease-to-buy option for 11 acres east of Halvorsen Park with a developer who would like to build an upscale RV park and mixed-use development. Both motions passed unanimously, with Councilmember Austin Allison absent.
The completion of Waterfront Drive, as was noted in a presentation by Public Works director Brian Gerving, has been in the works for "years and years and years," first initialized by city staff in 2005 when the council approved a project study report.
Currently drivers and pedestrians cannot continuously navigate Waterfront Drive and have to detour around a block between the Adorni Center and G Street. Staff is still in the process of finishing the right of way process and expect to have that done by February of 2018. State funding from the California Transportation Committee is expected in March of 2018, with the entire project costing $3.3 million. The city's engineering staff has found several funding streams to make up that amount, with the city committing a portion yet to be decided. After some discussion, the city council voted in favor of the extension, which will allow staff to seek money from the State Transportation Improvement Program. Completion of Waterfront Drive — tentatively scheduled for October — will also bridge one of the last remaining gaps in the bay trail.
North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman joined 57 of his colleagues today in a failed vote to allow consideration of articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump.
The measure pushed forward by Rep. Al Green faced an overwhelming defeat when a motion to sideline it was approved 364-58, with four Democrats voting "present."
In a statement, Huffman defended his vote to move the articles forward.
"The magnitude and breadth of President Trump’s actions to undermine his office and the public trust — those that have been illegal, corrupt, or have caused deep damage to our country — is stunning and most of the facts are indisputable," Huffman said. "For these reasons, I’ve stated for months that I believe President Trump should be, and eventually will be, impeached. And for the same reasons, if I am presented with a vote on this subject, I’ll vote my conscience and support impeachment."
Read the full statement copied below:
Rep. Huffman Statement on Impeachment Vote
Washington, D.C.- Congressman Jared Huffman (D-CA) today released the following statement today after voting to allow consideration of articles of impeachment introduced by Rep. Al Green (D-TX):
“Impeachment is an extraordinary measure, but it should be clear to anyone who examines the facts that President Trump’s actions justify his impeachment, including his efforts to obstruct justice, his self-enrichment and serial violations of the Emoluments Clause, and his involvement in a cover-up stemming from his campaign’s very likely collusion with Russian interests to undermine the 2016 presidential election.
The magnitude and breadth of President Trump’s actions to undermine his office and the public trust – those that have been illegal, corrupt, or have caused deep damage to our country — is stunning and most of the facts are indisputable.
For these reasons, I’ve stated for months that I believe President Trump should be, and eventually will be, impeached. And for the same reasons, if I am presented with a vote on this subject, I’ll vote my conscience and support impeachment.
It is vital, however, that we distinguish impeachable offenses from offensive behavior, divisive political instincts, ineptitude, and poor judgment. These are all frustrating but in my view do not rise to the level of impeachable offenses. I understand why many of my Democratic colleagues, including many who believe President Trump should ultimately be impeached, voted no on today’s resolution.
We are a long way from having the votes in Congress to impeach, a vote that must happen on a bipartisan basis. We need to work in a bipartisan way to bring accountability and transparency to a White House that is doing great damage, including through ongoing Congressional oversight, a new independent commission on Russian election interference, and the ongoing work of Special Prosecutor Bob Mueller.”
A 56-year-old man is dead after what detectives believe was a homicide that occurred last night between 11:35 p.m. and 12:45 a.m., and the Eureka Police Department is looking for help with its investigation.
Charles "Chuckie" Levaugh, identified by EPD as a transient, was apparently killed in the alley adjacent to the First Church of the Nazarene, at 2039 E St. EPD is seeking any surveillance video or other information that may help identify a suspect. A cause of death has not been released.
The Humboldt County Sheriff's Office has released the name of a 27-year-old man who was apparently shot inside his vehicle in the early hours of Saturday morning. Mathew Thomas Dix's truck was idling in his driveway on the 1700 block of Victor Blvd. in Manila when deputies responded to call for medical aid at 3:16 a.m. on Dec. 2. He was found to be deceased upon arrival and the cause of death was later determined to be from a gunshot wound.
No further information about the ongoing investigation has been made available.
The County of Humboldt is asking for a new trial in the civil case that in August resulted in a jury verdict finding the county and its correctional officers liable in the 2014 jail death of Daren Borges and awarding $2.5 million in damages to his family.
In addition to filing motions last week asking a court to throw out the jury’s verdicts in the case and grant a new trial, the defendants in the case — the county of Humboldt, former Sheriff Mike Downey and correctional officers Tim Hershberger, David Swim, Terri Bittner and Tim Hammer — also filed papers seeking to have local attorney Nancy Delaney replaced with John Whitefleet of Sacramento’s Porter Scott law firm as lead attorney in the case.
On Aug. 28, a federal jury found correctional officers failed to follow policy and were indifferent to Borges’ obvious medical needs when they opted not to have him medically screened while booking him into the Humboldt County jail about two hours before he was found dead of a methamphetamine overdose in a jail sobering cell. The jury, which deliberated for about 10 hours before returning its unanimous verdicts, also found that Humboldt County had failed to adequately train its correctional officers.
The Eureka City Council is slated to meet Tuesday evening with a very long list of resolutions, ordinances and reports to discuss, many of which will immediately impact Eureka’s waterfront.
On the consent calendar, the council is expected to approve without discussion an item that would bridge the last remaining gap in Waterfront Drive, between G and J streets, which would “provide continuity in pedestrian and bicycle access along the city’s waterfront,” completing the Eureka portion of the Bay Trail. Once the city commits to funding the measure, it will be eligible for $735,000 from the State Transportation Improvement Program. The area would also be paved for vehicle access. It is also expected to authorize the city manager to grant $250,000 in Wastewater Reserves to install a pre-treatment system at the building currently occupied by Pacific Seafood, at 2 Commercial St.
North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman, who has steadily upped the fuego in his social media game since last year's election, seemed to have some fun this morning after news broke that former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn has reached a plea agreement and pledged to aid Special Counsel Robert Mueller's ongoing Russia probe.
"Let me be the first to congratulate President Pence," Huffman tweeted.
The third-term Democrat's impeachment-prediction tweet, which came after ABC News' Brian Ross reported that Flynn is prepared to testify that then President-elect Donald Trump personally directed him during the transition to make contact with Russians, turned some heads and was quickly reported on by thehill.com. But Huffman wasn't done and followed up with another quip: "At this rate, Rex Tillerson may be President before Trump can humiliate him into quitting as Secretary of State."
At this rate, Rex Tillerson may be President before Trump can humiliate him into quitting as Secretary of State. https://t.co/t3vphY2gAj
And on Facebook a couple hours earlier, the Huff dropped some Yiddish fire (that's פייַער, for those keeping score at home) to express the extent of his frustration with the current administration.
As we've reported before, Huffman's social media accounts seem to have cut loose in the wake of Trump's election, perhaps following the lead of a certain commander in chief.