N.J. Teen-Agers in Suicide Pact Used Cocaine

Four teen-agers used cocaine about two hours before they died of carbon monoxide poisoning in a suicide pact, toxicological reports released Friday showed.

The report also indicated that the amount of carbon monoxide in their blood was more than double what would be considered a fatal dose, Bergen County Prosecutor Larry McClure said.

The teen-agers’ bodies were found March 11 in an idling car inside a closed garage behind a Bergenfield apartment complex.

McClure said a cocaine high usually lasts about two hours and speculated that the four were “on the downside of the cocaine they used.”

“There are a lot of suicidal deaths due to reckless conduct by young people in this age group, and there is a correlation between alcohol, drugs and suicides,” he said at a news conference.

Depression After High

The depression experienced after a cocaine high may have been a contributing factor in the youths’ decision to lock themselves in a garage and breathe carbon monoxide fumes, McClure said.

All four signed a suicide note saying they were depressed and asking to be buried together, authorities said.