Brian And Courtney Halye: Ohio Couple Die Of Suspected Drug Overdose
Residents of Montgomery County, Ohio, woke up to tragic news on Thursday after a young couple were found dead inside their home. The couple were later identified as 36-year-old Brian Halye (hah-LEE) and his wife, 34-year-old Courtney Halye. The bodies were discovered by the couple’s four children inside the bedroom of their home located on East Von Dette Circle, a suburban cul-de-sac. Initial impressions are that the couple died of a drug overdose.
According to Dayton Daily News, two 911 calls were made from the Halye residence shortly before 8 a.m., on Thursday. In the phone call, two children aged 9 and 13 told dispatchers about their “unresponsive” parents who were “cold” and not waking up. Shortly after the call, emergency services arrived. The children were seen running towards their relatives as soon as the police officers arrived on scene. By 10:30 a.m, both Brian and Courtney Halye were declared dead.
Parents found dead in Centerville have been identified as Brian and Courtney Halye https://t.co/rD2ThlWcWF
— WHIO-TV (@whiotv) March 16, 2017
Brian Halye was employed as an airline pilot with Spirit Airlines and had been working with the company for close to a decade. In fact, Brian captained a flight last Friday, less than a week before his death. Initial reports say that the couple’s death point towards a case of drug overdose. That said, the actual circumstances that led to the death of the couple will only be revealed after a thorough investigation. If the deaths do turn out to be drug-overdose related, it would be another addition to the many drug-related incidents that had plagued Montgomery County and Ohio since the past few months.
According to Centerville Police Officer John Davis, the primary reason for believing that the deaths were drug-related was the discovery of several drug-related paraphernalia close to the scene. Davis’ theory was also endorsed by Ken Betz, director of the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office, who said that the incident resembles other opioid cases and “could be consistent with what we’re seeing with fentanyl products in our community.” According to Betz, there has been a huge rise in the number of accidental drug overdose cases in the region with the latest data pointing towards more than 160 deaths this year alone.
“We’ve been talking about this for how long now? Here I go again … year-to-date accidental drug overdoses exceeded 160 already this year.”
The official cause of death will be released after a thorough medical examination is performed, authorities revealed.
The incident happened at the home Brian Halye purchased back in 2013. The couple’s neighbors were visibly upset by the news and sympathized with the four kids who were orphaned. Most of the neighbors were surprised over the involvement of drugs in the deaths especially since Brian was a pilot.
“That’s what surprises us, because he was an airline pilot, and he flew for Spirit.,” one of the neighbors said.
Another neighbor who refused to be named said that the Halyes were a quiet family.
“There’s never much activity going on over there,” he said.
Children find Spirit Airlines pilot and wife dead in Ohio home; officials say deaths appear to be drug-related https://t.co/7T4FtjR9w5 pic.twitter.com/SZmobhlYID
— CNN (@CNN) March 17, 2017
According to records, Brian Halye captained his last Spirit Airlines flight on March 10. He was based out of the Airlines’ Detroit operations center. In a statement issued by the company, Spirit Airlines expressed its sympathies to Brian’s family, colleagues, and friends.
“Captain Halye served at the airline for just over nine years,” a part of the statement read.
The possibility of these deaths being the result of a drug overdose is likely to raise doubts about the screening methods used by the airline industry to ensure that pilots are at their physical best while operating an aircraft. Spirit Airlines is yet to release the results of any federally required medical screenings or tests that were conducted on Brian Halye before his death. Pilots like Brian are required to undergo periodic medical checkups to ensure that they are always physically and mentally fit to fly.
[Featured Image by Airdone/Shutterstock]
