Captain of Google exec's yacht lied about overdose video, police say

Captain of Google exec’s yacht lied about overdose video, police say

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Alix Tichelman, 26, left, and her attorney, Athena Reis, in Santa Cruz Superior Court in July where Tichelman pleaded not guilty to manslaughter, destroying evidence and several other charges in the November heroin overdose death of Google executive Forrest Hayes.

(Monica Davey / EPA)

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Alix Tichelman looks back toward her family in the public seating area after her arraignment in Santa Cruz County Superior Court in July.

(Shmuel Thaler / Associated Press)

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Public defenders Jerry Christensen, far left, Larry Biggam and Athena Reis answer reporters’ questions at the Santa Cruz County Courthouse after their client, Alix Tichelman, was arraigned in the death of Forrest Hayes, a Google executive, by heroin overdose in November.

(Shmuel Thaler / Associated Press)

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Alix Tichelman, left, confers with public defender Diane August during a court appearance in Santa Cruz Superior Court on July 9. (Shmuel Thaler / Associated Press)

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A car sits in the driveway of the Folsom house that is listed as the residence of Bart Tichelman, father of Alix Tichelman, who has been charged in the death of Silicon Valley executive Forrest Hayes. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

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A message is taped to the door of the Folsom home that is listed as the residence of Bart Tichelman, father of Alix Tichelman, who is a suspect in the death of Forrest Hayes. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

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This undated photo provided by NorthFulton.com shows Dean Riopelle, 53, who died of a heroin overdose in September 2013 in Milton, Ga., about two months before tech executive Forrest Hayes died of an overdose on his yacht in Santa Cruz. (Jonathan Copsey / Associated Press)

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The house where bar owner Dean Riopelle overdosed Sept. 17, 2013, while at home with his girlfriend, Alix Tichelman, in Milton, Ga. (Ron Harris / Associated Press)

By Joseph Serna

July 11, 2014 10:25 AM PT

It took months for detectives to link an escort to a Google exec’s death on his yacht in Santa Cruz because the ship’s captain lied to police about the existence of surveillance video on board, police said.

Last week, Santa Cruz police arrested 26-year-old Alix Tichelman on suspicion of giving Forrest Hayes, 51, a fatal dose of heroin and deliberately avoiding to help him in November 2013. Hayes’ body was found aboard his 50-foot yacht the next morning by the ship’s captain.

The delay between the discovery of the body and Tichelman’s arrest, in part, was because the captain didn’t reveal everything he knew to detectives, said Santa Cruz Deputy Police Chief Steve Clark.

The captain, who was not identified, catered to the rich and powerful, a client base that puts a high price on discretion, authorities said. So when the captain found Hayes’ body and called police, he told detectives the ship’s security camera wasn’t working.

When detectives learned the camera was fully operational and had stored video from that November night on a cloud server, they got a court order for the footage in early January. What they saw led to Tichelman’s arrest.

Police say Tichelman injected herself with heroin and then administered a dose to Hayes, who subsequently slipped into unconsciousness and collapsed. As he lay there dying, police say, Tichelman cleaned up the scene and picked up her needles, drugs, fixed up the bed and stepped over Hayes’ body to finish a glass of wine.

Police allege she tried to wipe her prints off the glass and closed the yacht blinds so no one could see inside.

“She’s cold. Ice cold,” Clark said.

It took months for police to identify Tichelman, a suspected escort. Once they did, they posed as a potential client willing to pay $1,000 for her company. She was taken into custody at a tony Santa Cruz resort last week.

She’s also being investigated in a heroin overdose death in Georgia.

Tichelman was charged this week with manslaughter, several drug-related felonies and misdemeanors for alleged prostitution and destroying evidence related to Hayes’ death.

The ship’s captain, meanwhile, will be a witness in the case, police said.

Tichelman is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday.

For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna.