Well why didn't they say so in the first place?Sheriff: Deaths of women near Big Sur were part of suicide pact
RON HARRIS, Associated Press Writer Monday, October 13, 2003
(10-13) 18:27 PDT SALINAS, Calif. (AP) --
A bizarre suicide pact became the focus Monday of an investigation into the deaths of two young women found in an ocean view cabin along the Central California coast, authorities said.
Notes found at the scene appeared to indicate that Jacqueline Toves, 26, and Abigail Tapia, 27, may have taken their own lives after plummeting into despair, said Monterey County Sheriff Mike Kanalakis.
"There was no indication of foul play and there was no indication of trauma" to the women's bodies, Kanalakis said.
The exact causes of the deaths had not been determined pending the results of toxicology reports, and the sheriff declined to say when the women may have taken their lives.
The bodies of the women, who lived together as a couple in Long Beach, were found Friday lying side-by-side in a bed at the Gorda Springs Resort in the rustic Big Sur region.
Their hands were bound with duct tape and black plastic garbage bags were pulled snugly over their heads, authorities said. The tape was wound more tightly around one of the woman's wrists than the others, Kanalakis said.
One woman had a grinning Halloween mask over her plastic bag, said Leonardo Flores, an inn manager who saw the bodies. Another feathered mask lay nearby, he said.
The sheriff wouldn't elaborate on any connection between a frowning, adobe-colored decorative mask hanging on the door of the Long Beach, Calif. apartment shared by the two women and any of the masks or other objects found in the hotel room.
Kanalakis said drugs were found at the scene, but he declined to say what kind.
"Based on information that we collected at the scene, we've concluded that both young ladies were despondent in their lives and they were clearly upset," he said, adding that the women's families had been notified of their deaths by authorities.
The investigation continued Monday as authorities traveled back to Gorda, Kanalakis confirmed, but he insisted the public was not in any danger as a result of "the terrible tragedy."
Set on a cliff overlooking the ocean and charging $200 to $500 a night, the Gorda Springs Resort usually attracts a mix of hikers, cyclists, celebrities and honeymooners, said Sherwin Miller, the hotel's owner.
The women checked into the inn Oct. 3, Miller said, renting a cabin with a cozy, rustic feel and a fireplace and porch.
The women left a "do not disturb" sign on their door and declined housekeeping service during their stay, said Flores, the inn manager.
Flores said that when a neighbor staying in the cottage next door complained of loud pounding coming from the women's cabin at about 4 a.m. the first night of their stay, they took 15 or 20 minutes to answer. Finally a woman appeared in the doorway without saying a word.
"He said when she answered the door she just looked at him and listened and closed the door. Never said anything," he said.
Though the cabin had no kitchen, Flores said, he only knew of one time that they went out for food -- the Wednesday before they died, he said, one of the women went to the resort's restaurant for a takeout order of pasta and clam chowder.
While they were out, he checked on their room, he said. He was concerned about what they were doing because they never seemed to leave, but there was nothing out of order.
"I just did a little quick look," he said. "I got concerned why did the girls rent the room for seven days and the blinds are closed."
When he found the bodies on Friday, he said, the room was clean and women's clothes were neatly folded.
Court records show that Toves, who served in the Air National Guard for five years starting in 1996 and recently had attended the DeVry Institute of Technology, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in March.
The trustee in her case, David May, said he didn't remember her personally but was having the records of her case retrieved from storage. He said Toves had no assets that could be used to pay creditors and that she was discharged from her debts on July 14.
"She doesn't owe anybody anything, which doesn't mean anything to her at the moment," he said.
On Monday, all the shades in the apartment where the women lived, just blocks from the beach, were drawn.
Dan Kaplan, 29, a next-door neighbor, said the two appeared inseparable.
"Every time I saw one, I saw the other," Kaplan said.
Associated Press Writer Tim Molloy in Long Beach contributed to this report.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/10/13/state2008EDT0118.DTL
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, Sep-02-03, 10:30 AM, (1)
