Sports

Gabrielle Schoeneweis Cause of Death: Cocaine and Lidocaine

by Amy Judd | December 1, 2009 at 02:29 pm

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Gabrielle Schoeneweis, the wife of former Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Scott Schoeneweis, who was found dead in their Arizona home on May 20 2009, has had her cause of death released today: an overdose of cocaine, and an anesthetic called lidocaine.

The report also stated that Gabrielle Schoeneweis' cocaine use 'may have caused harm to another person' but it did not state who that person could be.

Lidocaine is an anesthetic used topically to treat itching, burning and pain from skin irritations, but it is also used for a dental anesthetic or even a local anesthetic for minor surgery. It is also used as a additive in cocaine as it intensifies the numbness of the cocaine effect, giving the user a more intense high. This is the feeling you get when you use a higher quality cocaine, so lidocaine is added to lower quality cocaine to give it the same effect, even though it is not.

Under Arizona's public records law, it is still being decided whether to disclose the autopsy report for Gabrielle Schoeneweis, but a Court of Appeals panel said that further proceedings are needed to determine if the public needs to hear that information.

But the panel said its ruling disclosed the cause of death to provide guidance “in this and other cases” and because cause of death is a central fact not subject to consideration of whether privacy rights outweigh public interest for disclosure of public records.

An attorney for Scott Schoeneweis has now filed a lawsuit against the state and Maricopa County that claimed the release of the cause of death would cause emotional suffering for the Schoeneweis family.

The Court of Appeals panel’s ruling came on Schoeneweis’ appeal of a July 9 ruling in which a trial judge denied Schoeneweis’ request to seal the death certificate and any other documents concerning the cause of death.

Scott and his wife Gabrielle had been married for 10 years, and had three children together. Gabrielle had a daughter from a previous marriage as well.

Scott Schoeneweis is now a free agent after playing for the Arizona Diamondbacks for one year.