Johnny Lewis killed his landlady and her cat and ultimately fell to his death in her driveway. At the time the Sons of Anarchy actor died, everyone assumed he was on drugs and had come from rehab not long before and even his attorney suspected Johnny was on drugs. How else do explain what he did that day? Yes, he had been suffering from mental issues, but everyone thought it was drugs. In a report released yesterday though, the coroner said there were no traces of any drugs or medication in his system.
Even scarier knowing he wasn't jacked up on something.
ReplyDeleteBATH SALTS. We don't currently have a way to test for it because they're made with different ingredients..
DeleteWow...then that truly is insane. How sad. Wish he could have got the help he needed.
ReplyDeleteFor some people, after long exposure to drugs they can suffer a mental break. The dr called it organic brain syndrome. My fad suffered a lapse of it and we were told he might not snap out of it. Thankfully after awhile he did, but during that time he was the man I knew. He had to be restrained in a hospital bed and was talking utter nonsense. He was also extremely violent, hence the restraints.
ReplyDeleteStill sad story no matter what the cause was. I read somewhere he had nail marks on his neck like maybe the woman tried to fight back.
Was he a scientolgist?
ReplyDeleteYes, he was a poster boy for a while.
DeleteI feel worse for the dead woman (and cat), than I do for this POS.
ReplyDeleteI still think he may have been on something. Remember the face eater in Florida was clear of anything but marijuana. I think it's some crap they can't test for or something? I don't know it's weird.
ReplyDeleteKaty dodged a bullet with this guy.
ReplyDeleteSad situation for the land lady's family.
I'm so sorry for the woman (and I loved Taylor Negron's tribute to her), but I am also sympathetic to his family. No one wants this for their child.
ReplyDeleteI just stated SoA and he's adorable in it.
Does anyone know where the autopsy report is? I've looked and found just verbal summary of the "no drugs" thing. He did have nail holes in his neck and appeared to have been strangled (nonfatally), which is ... strange, no?
ReplyDeleteTalk about life imitating art...
ReplyDeleteThe scratch marks and partial strangulation are thought to perhaps be from defensive marks from his victim. And I agree with the above poster that today's drug screens aren't equipped to look for the newer designer drugs.
ReplyDeleteWhich is very scary. Mb there is some drug that passes thru your system, but leaves behind permanent damage to part of brain that controls impulse control and rational thinking. Sad sad sad
DeleteThat's just so sad.
ReplyDeleteIMO this makes everything seem so much worse - to know that he did that of his own accord. That's some serious brain damage/mental illness, and it frightens me.
ReplyDeleteI was much happier blaming it on the drugs.
@Vera L.- I read that, too, it was sweet.
That doesn't mean drugs weren't involved. He probably seriously messed up his head by doing mass quantities of really bad sh*t. Drugs can sometimes magnify mental issues or bring out dormant issues that might not otherwise manifest.
ReplyDeleteMany times those who are mentally ill use drugs or alcohol as a means of self-medicating. While their use can certainly make the mental problems worse, they are not the primary problem needing treatment. So, if those around him pushed him into rehab and he got clean, it doesn't surprise me that he was drug free at the time of the murder. The underlying mental issues probably had not been addressed (or he wasn't taking the legal meds either since his system was clean of them as well).
ReplyDeleteWhen did this happen? I just started watching SoA, and was itching to discuss it here. But I don't want this to be why. This story must have flown past me before I knew who he was.
ReplyDeleteToday's drug tests don't keep up with the quick pace of innovation. Look at how lance Armstrong was as to fool countless tests by using newer strains and blood transfusions.
This is so sad. Take yourself out, but never EVER drag someone else into it.
ITA with everyone above regarding self medicating for mental illness. When are we going to start treating mental illness as a serious disease? Unfortunately, it's much more acceptable to be a drunk or addict and get treatment, then be labeled bipolar or depressive. Untreated MI is just as dangerous and damaging, but the stigma lives on. Was he on some designer (untestable) drugs? We will never know. The whole thing makes me really sad.
ReplyDeleteI also loved Taylor's beautiful memorial to his dear friend. RIP Catherine! You were an amazing woman loved by many.
Add in his parents are very involved $cilons, so forget proper treatment for mental illness, which doesn't exist. Just grab those soup cans! The Co$ war on 'psychs' is insidious, reprehensible, and perfectly reasonable. It keeps their coffers full, and suffering people grasping at the El Ron pipe dream. Until they can't. Sadly, an innocent woman and her cat ended up in the way.
ReplyDeleteThe killing of the cat was the part that got me pissed....something about animals getting tortured has always bugged me.and I heard bath salts is not detected in screeings..could hd have been on these?...I mean that weirdo who dined on that homeless man was supposed to be on them according to friends ,and correct me if I am wrong,the autopsy found no salts
ReplyDeleteMiss Zappa, methinks you got a bit of the crazy too if it was the cat's death that upset you most about this whole incident.
ReplyDeleteI second that, faqturd
DeleteYes thank you both. I feel so sad for the woman who lost her life. Her life and horrible murder feel so overlooked. Way late to the post, but anyone agree?
DeleteCompassion for animals isn't a mental illness.
DeleteI think the fact he WASN'T medicated is the problem. From what I read, previous drug use had given him serious mental health problems.
ReplyDeleteSo if he comes off/doesn't take meds to control this, has a psychotic breakdown becoming delusional and violent- in a medical way it makes sense to me.
Absence of medication and no illegal or recreational drugs in his system would then make sense. Just a theory. You don't have to still be actively taking the drugs if they've already done the damage to get psychosis.
@faqturd.....lol yes that did sound a little crazay...its just like hey he killed this poor old lady..and to top it off he killed her poor cat...i think the media liked the cat part the best..
ReplyDeleteMaybe the guy was just crazy
ReplyDeleteYou're obviously not a drug addict who deals with the negative stigma of methadone treatment if you think it's more socially acceptable to be an addict than afflicted with mental illness.
ReplyDeleteOh, and guess what? Addiction IS mental illness.
Peter, routine postmortem drug screens don't test for bath salts. It's not that "we don't currently have a way to test for it..." There are specific tests to run for bath salts, and I would think they would run the gamut of tests on this guy, considering his history of drug use.
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame. The thing about Scientology is that they demonize psychiatry. So if one of them has a psychotic break, they don't seek the help that might save them and the people around them. Google Lisa McPherson.
ReplyDeleteHe probably needed psychiatric help and prescription drugs to make the transition. The Lady he killed was a wonderful person and would have tried to get him the help he so desperately needed. Scientology is a cult and contributed to these deaths.
ReplyDeleteSo sad.
As someone said above; maybe he was addicted in the first place because he was self medicating because of mental issues. Maybe getting of drugs means getting back all your mental problems too?
ReplyDeleteI have witnessed my mom having a psychosis and shit was crazy. When they are in that state it is not possible to snap out and they can go really, really far when it comes to conspiracy theories and feeling like they are being threatened. Maybe he was psychotic and scared and 'defended' himself against the woman, who in his mind was a danger? We will never know. Very sad.