Andres English-Howard
In 1995, Andres English-Howard was sentenced for the death of his 27 years old girlfriend, Andrea O'Donnell, who was killed on 5 November 1994. English-Howard pleaded his innocence, but did not have any memories of the time in question. His case is known for the use of a truth serum by his defense attorney.[1]
Background
English-Howard dropped out of colleges over a span of ten years, with a history of abusing women emotionally and materially, and he often blamed his failures on racism. The couple met in 1992 at the Cabrillo College near Santa Cruz, while he was active in African-American causes and she worked on domestic violence hotlines and studied women's issues. In addition to that, she was a self defense instructor.[2] English-Howard wanting to flee crack cocaine and O'Donnell intending to study at San Diego State University, the pair moved to San Diego. In the weeks before O'Donnell died, the couple slept separately, and barely talked to each other.[3]
To friends and colleagues, O'Donnell was secretive about her private life, and impressed them with her hard-working and active nature. English-Howard, on the other hand, changed his jobs often, but diary entries show that he was very aware of his addiction.[3]
Trial and aftermath
When accused of murder, his defense lawyer, Marc Carlos, tried to elicit more information from English-Howard, and turned to a doctor, Mark Kalish, who then surreptitiously gave English-Howard methohexital, a drug similar to sodium thiopental, with the expectation that the barbiturate derivative would act as a truth serum.[1][4]
Under the influence of the drug, he said O'Donnell was angry when he returned home, and he admitted to being on crack cocaine and grabbing her by the neck.[1]
A year later, English-Howard, during a court session, admitted to killing her. After his conviction, he committed suicide.[1]
Literature
- Jones, Kathleen (2000). Living Between Danger and Love: The Limits of Choice. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 0813527449. Search this book on
The author was a professor of O'Donnell.[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Leung, Rebecca (2003-04-07). "Truth Serum: A Possible Weapon". CBS News. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Living Between Danger and Love - The Limits of Choice". Community Centers Library / UC San Diego. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sander, Ernest (1995-08-20). "'Victim' Wasn't in Her Vocabulary, but She Became One : San Diego: Andrea O'Donnell worked on domestic violence hotlines, studied karate and counseled others to take control of their lives. Then her boyfriend killed her". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
- ↑ The CBS article gives the drug's name as sodium brevitol.
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