Ailing Woman’s Death Is Tied to Suicide Book

A 70-year-old terminal cancer patient was found dead in her Linda Vista mobile home, the fourth person this year in San Diego County whose death may be connected to a best-selling book about how to commit suicide.

Louise Dunn Reddell, a retired court reporter, was found dead in a chair in her living room shortly before noon Saturday, a plastic bag covering her head and a rubber band snugly around her neck, according to county Medical Examiner Investigator Dan Matticks.

On the table in front of Reddell was an empty bowl that had held cream of mushroom soup. Up to 45 sedative and tranquilizer tablets had been crushed and mixed with the liquid. Nearby was a dog-eared copy of “Final Exit,” Matticks said.

Pages 99 and 109 of the controversial book by Derek Humphry had been marked.

“There is no question she used the method in the book to take her life,” Matticks said. “Page 99 talks specifically about the bag over head. . . . Page 109 through 113 talks about the physiology involved with taking the drugs. What you should eat beforehand and what you should mix the drugs with to prevent from becoming nauseous.”

In at least three other suicide cases this year, the victims also used plastic bags, took lethal doses of phenobarbital and had a copy of Humphry’s book in their home, said County Medical Examiner Brian Blackbourne.

The book, on sale in San Diego since September, sold briskly at first, but sales have recently tapered off, said Ron Friese, a clerk at Hunter’s Books in La Jolla.

Humphry has written at least two other books about coming to terms with death and painless methods of suicide. In Humphry’s works, the act of suicide is referred to as “self-deliverance.”

According to Matticks, breast cancer was diagnosed in Reddell 10 years ago, but she was able to drive a car, shop and cook for herself until four months ago. Her condition began to deteriorate rapidly, and she had been confined to her home since October.

A divorcee, with a daughter in Oregon, Reddell lived on her own and provided for herself most of her life. Shortly before killing herself, Reddell became dependent on an oxygen machine, Matticks said.

Two months ago, Matticks said, Reddell hired a live-in attendant, the woman who unknowingly prepared the suicide meal.

About 9:30 a.m., Reddell asked her caretaker to put out a light snack before leaving the house to run an errand.

“She said she was hungry and she wanted soup,” Matticks said.

The caretaker returned two hours later and found Reddell’s body in her favorite recliner. A 100-count bottle of phenobarbital, a prescription sedative, was found on the table. Investigators observed that the bottle was missing 25 tablets. Next to the phenobarbital, a foil container of the tranquilizer Avitan was missing 20 tablets. The drugs had apparently been bought in Mexico, where they are sold over the counter, Matticks said.

The preliminary verdict on the cause of Reddell’s death was asphyxiation combined with drug overdose. A toxicological test is pending.

Blackbourne said the asphyxiation and overdose methods detailed in “Final Exit” have been used for decades and are receiving attention now because of controversy surrounding the book. There have been 341 suicides in the county this year, including several which have been committed using plastic bags, but most have been by gunfire, he said.