Published: June 01, 2009 11:51 pm      

OVERDOSE: Family of OD victim mourns loss

The parents of Victoria Eikenburg say their daughter’s drug-related death came at a time when she seemed poised to confront her demons and begin helping others to do the same.

Eikenburg, 20, of the City of Tonawanda, was found dead of a suspected drug overdose Saturday, along with Adam J. Tafelski, 22, of North Tonawanda, and William B. Jakobi, of Niagara Falls. The three were discovered in Jakobi’s LaSalle home Saturday afternoon.

But while James Eikenburg, Victoria’s father, said the situation has been a nightmare for his family, he wants to remember his daughter as she truly was — a loving and caring child.

James said his daughter bragged often about her older brother, a New York State police officer, and was a staple at family gatherings. She had just begun courses at Erie Community College after transferring from Buffalo State and was excited about getting an A in each her first two classes, he said.

She was studying to become a counselor and help others to overcome addiction — a subject she knew all to well.

The 2001 Tonawanda High School graduate was part of both the basketball and swim teams and participated in many other extracurricular activities. Her mother, Mary Jo, said Victoria had battled a drug addiction for more than a year, but seemed to be doing well in recent months.

“She was always a very good girl,” Mary Jo Eikenburg said. “She was always helping the underdog. You couldn’t ask for a better daughter.”

While James Eikenburg said Victoria knew others struggling with addiction, he and his family didn’t know Tafelski or Jakobi, the other two victims found with his daughter. Niagara Falls Police said one of the male victims had “recently finished a stint in (drug) rehab.”

Police have still not confirmed what actually caused the trio to overdose. Autopsies were completed Monday at Erie County Medical Center, but failed to yield enough clues to determine the causes of death.

“Limited trauma was found on the bodies,” Falls Police Detective Capt. Ernest Palmer said. “There was no trauma found that would have caused a fatality.”

Investigators will now wait for the results of toxicology tests that will take several weeks to complete.

“They all ingested, and vomited, apparently the same substance,” Palmer said.

The chief detective said although the substance hasn’t been determined, it appears that all three deaths were caused by a simultaneous drug overdose.

“It has been inaccurately reported in (other media outlets) that the cause of death was ingestion of Fentanyl patches,” Palmer said. “That information is not necessarily correct and was not released by myself or (the Falls Police Department). We do not know the source of this inaccurate information.”

Palmer said detectives found “other substances ... on the premises, which could have been ingested orally and caused the death of the three.”

He said the autopsy did not produce proof that the victims were engaged in improper use of Fentanyl patches.

“At this point there is not enough evidence to indicate that Fentanyl patches were used or that they caused their deaths,” Palmer said. “No evidence of patches were found in their mouths or stomach contents.”

All three were discovered about 2:30 p.m. Saturday in a home at 1341 Caravelle Drive when a elderly woman who lives at the home went to check on them.

“Two of the bodies were discovered in the bathroom and the third was in the hallway just outside the bathroom,” Palmer said.

Investigators said the victims had been out partying Friday night and showed up at the Caravelle Drive home around 3 a.m. Saturday.

As investigators seek to piece together the events that led to the three deaths, James Eikenburg is left with far more unanswered questions.

“We’re not quite sure how this happened, what happened to her,” James Eikenburg said. “We don’t understand this.”

Contact reporter Daniel Pye at 693-1000, ext. 158.