|
|
Erica Prothro was spending the
Thanksgiving holiday with her family in Lancaster. Erica had
been staying with her aunt in New York while she sought work as
a model and she was homesick.
The 2006 Quartz Hill High School graduate was a hair model at
Hair Cafe; International in Santa Monica before she left for the
bright lights of the Big Apple. Erica and her parents, Eric and
Dana , were in an episode of MTV's "Parental Control" taped in
January 2007 and Erica was involved in other projects.
The tall, slender dark-haired teenager was being wooed by Elite
Model Management, a top modeling agency in New York, and was
working on her portfolio. The attractive young woman had a
bright future ahead of her and everything to live for.
But on the evening of Nov. 28, Erica's lifeless body was found
in her parents' home, after being left alone for less than 45
minutes.
"When I walked in the house I saw her," Dana said. "Erica - she
was just - the ottoman was moved to the other side - her arms
were completely opened out. She looked so pretty, like she was
going out.
"There was a trash bag over her head - it was sucked into her
face. I could tell she was dead - her eyes were gray - covered
over," Dana continued.
Dana was stunned at what she saw. Had Erica taken her own life?
Dana began screaming for help.
"I couldn't believe it. It looked like my daughter had committed
suicide. I was praying to God to bring her back," Dana said.
Dana called to her son and his friends who arrived home shortly
after she did. They called 911 and followed instructions for
CPR, but nothing happened.
"The ambulance came right away," Dana said. "When they wheeled
her out they had a heartbeat. They took her to the hospital but
she never really came back. She was brain dead but they kept her
alive so everyone could go say goodbye to her."
Earlier in the day Erica had been with her brother, Ryan, and
his friends. She had stayed at a friend the night before and was
still a little tired. Later that afternoon Ryan called Dana at
work and asked her if he could pick up a new video game at the
discount store. He and his friends took off and left Erica alone
at the house.
"I was on my way home from work when I tried calling her as I
drove into my neighborhood," Dana said. "She didn't answer. The
house was dark - I thought nobody was home. I figured Erica had
already gone out. When I walked in the door I saw her purse and
keys on the kitchen table. Then I saw her. She was home alone
for maybe 40 minutes or so," she said.
The police considered the home a crime scene, Dana said, and
placed it under a murder investigation. They questioned Ryan and
his friends but when they realized the boys weren't involved
they were released.
The police showed up at the hospital that night, where they
questioned Dana and Eric about the situation.
"They asked me if the bag on her head was tied or not," Dana
said. "I was so confused by that time but I knew I never untied
the bag. It slipped off her head easily. I just couldn't believe
Erica would kill herself but I didn't know what else could have
happened."
The hospital put down suicide as the cause of Erica's death, but
a preliminary coroner's report said suicide was impossible.
"We were baffled," Dana said. "We couldn't figure out what had
happened. They checked under her nails and everything to see if
someone had done this to her but everything was negative."
The answer came a couple of days later, when a young man came to
the house and asked to speak with Dana.
"He was scared to death - he was shaking so badly. I didn't
remember seeing him before or at the service for Erica," Dana
said.
He asked Dana if he could see her air conditioning unit. She and
the visitor checked the two units and found a cap missing.
What the young man told Dana next shocked her.
According to Dana, he said he was sorry. He told Dana he taught
Erica how to do huffing. They had done it at her friend's house
the night before Erica was found with a bag over her head. They
were huffing Freon, a colorless, odorless, chemical compound
used as a coolant in air conditioning units.
The friend said when Erica tried it she started talking weird,
like in a foreign language, and in a deeper than normal voice.
He said Erica really liked it and thought it was the funniest
thing. He described how they used a trash bag to intensify the
effects - a trash bag similar to the one found covering Erica's
head.
Dana was speechless.
"I'd never heard of huffing before," she said.
Eric and Dana looked up everything they could about huffing.
"People put Freon into a bag - put it up to their mouth and take
a breath - then put the bag over their head and take another
breath, then remove the bag," Dana said.
"It gives them a funny feeling. When Erica did it, it knocked
her out. It happens to a lot of people - it knocks them out. But
there was nobody there to revive her. Her heart just stopped,"
said Dana.
Dana is still angry and frustrated that people Erica knew taught
her this dangerous activity.
"She went there and did that - huffed Freon - with these friends
- and a guy she just met. I feel this girl had a couple of
friends who introduced my daughter to this. They are into some
weird stuff," Dana said.
More than 850 people attended a memorial for Erica and friends
shared how Erica had touched and changed their lives.
Hair Cafe; International owner Philippe Schaedler placed a
photograph of Erica in the window of his Santa Monica shop in
memory of the former model, who was used in print ads and on the
salon's Web site.
"We were totally shocked when we heard," Schaedler said. "It was
an unbelievable loss. She was definitely a model on the way up -
she had a bright career ahead of her."
The Prothros moved out of state after the death of their only
daughter.
Eric was in the middle of a large promotion when Erica passed
away and he lost the opportunity when his company, concerned
about his health, decided to downsize his position. They are
sharing the story of Erica's life and death to warn others about
the dangers of huffing.
"What do you say about this? Somebody showed it (huffing) to her
and she tried it at home," Eric said. "Sharing these types of
things with friends isn't being friends.
"Whoever showed her this needs to know once is all it takes to
have this happen. Just trying it once - this can be the result.
This is one more thing - when kids are bored - they're willing
to try this. Meth is a huge problem in the AV. So's this. When I
googled huffing - this is a national epidemic," he said.
"Erica had a great life out of town," Eric said. "She was living
in New York - having a ball. She made one mistake in judgement.
It's tragic - it's beyond tragic. I can't explain the hole in my
heart. It's unfathomable. I just miss her."
|
|
|
|
