Death of Emily Buettner, daughter of former Los Angeles school superintendent. According to LA County Medical Examiner, Austin Buettner, the overdose was the result of combining the herbal substance kratom and the active compounds of prescription anti-psychotic and antidepressant drugs.
The medical examiner has ruled the death of a 22-year-old man a suicide. said in a statement on Friday.
According to the LA County Sheriff’s Department, Emily Buettner was found on the side of a highway in Palmdale after a passerby alerted authorities shortly after midnight on January 6 that a woman was in “medical distress.” According to the medical examiner, he was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead at 2:10 p.m.
A month later, Austin Buettner announced he was ending his campaign for LA mayor, citing grief over his daughter’s death.
The medical examiner determined that her death was caused by the effects of mitragynine, 7-hydroxymitragynine, quetiapine, and mirtazapine. A deputy medical examiner examined his body on January 15 and the cause and manner of death were certified on Friday.
Quetiapine is a prescription antipsychotic medication and mirtazapine is a prescription antidepressant. Mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine are the active compounds found in kratom. All four substances can have a sedating effect and can slow or suppress breathing when combined, which can lead to death.
Kratom is a herbal substance derived from the leaves of mitragni speciosa Tree, which contains active compounds that can act like opioids at high doses. 7-Hydroxymitragynine, also known as 7-OH, is primarily responsible for opioid-like effects such as pain relief and euphoria.
In November, the LA County Department of Public Health announced it was banning the sale of all products containing kratom and 7-OH after six kratom-related deaths were reported in the county.
Some toxicologists say there is not enough research to provide a comprehensive understanding of what concentration of kratom or 7-OH can be highly toxic in the body. Most deaths related to kratom have occurred when the substance is mixed with other drugs.
Emily Buettner was a student at Loyola Marymount University and was the youngest and only daughter of four Buettner children.
In a February statement announcing the end of his mayoral campaign, Buettner described him as “a magical person, the light of our lives.” I
Buettner served as the Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District from 2018 to 2021. He also served as former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s “jobs czar” and spent about a year as publisher and chief executive of The Times.
Times staff writers David Zanisser, Richard Vinton, Noah Goldberg and Karen Garcia contributed to this report.
Suicide Prevention and Crisis Counseling Resources
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, seek help from a professional and call 9-8-8. The United States’ first nationwide three-digit mental health crisis hotline, 988, will connect callers to trained mental health counselors. To connect in the US and Canada, text “HOME” to 741741 crisis text line.
