The Daily Citizen, Dalton, GA

Local News

Discussion

Welcome to our online comments feature. To join the discussion, you must first register with Disqus and verify your email address. Once you do, your comments will post automatically. We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean. We reserve the right to remove comments that are obscene, racist or abusive and statements that are false or unverifiable. Repeat offenders will be blocked. You may flag objectionable comments for review by a moderator.
comments powered by Disqus
January 21, 2012

Exploding meth bag kills woman, fetus

Mark Millican markmillican@daltoncitizen.com

A Chatsworth woman and her fetus who died in early September passed away due to the bursting of a bag of methamphetamine in her body, authorities said.

Megan Michelle Long, 19, and her unborn child passed away at Hamilton Medical Center in Dalton. The fetus died on Sept. 2, while Long died two days later, said Murray County Coroner Larry Ballew at the time. The unborn daughter was to be named Madison Skye Long, according to Long’s obituary that was released by Peeples Funeral Home.

“The official cause of death is ‘toxic effects of methamphetamine,’ and the manner of death is ‘accident,’” said Deputy Coroner Alan Robbins, citing an autopsy report from the State Crime Lab of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. “The Megan Long case investigation is now complete.”

An initial toxicity report from the State Crime Lab in November pointed to the possibility that methamphetamine may have caused the death of Long. Robbins said in November the level of meth detected in Long’s body at the crime lab — 0.8 milligrams per liter — was “higher than the calibrating instrument could measure it.”

Ballew said in September a bag of meth “apparently” burst inside Long’s body.

Chief Deputy Ray Sitton of the Murray County Sheriff’s Office said in September a car with Long and two other passengers was pulled over during a traffic stop, but no charges were filed. He added that all information about the traffic stop and investigation into the deaths had been turned over to the district attorney’s office.

Assistant District Attorney Bert Poston said on Friday he was not familiar with the case. District Attorney Kermit McManus was out of town on Friday.

Text Only
Local News