Ole Miss student toxicology reports will be completed ‘in due time,’ official says

Toxicology reports for two Ole Miss students who died Sept. 21 will be completed “in a timely manner,” with families notified of the results first, an official told Fox News Digital.

Ole Miss students Aidan Hamilton, 18, and Robert Strang, 20, were found dead Sept. 21, both with similar packages of kratom or synthetic kratom in their possession, according to court documents. Officials said Hamilton “could have died due to pulmonary edema,” which would be consistent with a drug overdose. Strang was found “cold to the touch” when first responders arrived at his home near campus.

Alex Gibert, press secretary for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, told Fox News Digital, “The commissioner met with the (medical examiner’s) office yesterday and we hope the reports will be finalized ‘in due course.’ Families will be the first informed. »

The news comes as the American Kratom Association held a press conference Wednesday, criticizing the “delay in publicly identifying the specific products purchased by two Ole Miss students before their deaths.”

The group claims that these tablets “are not natural kratom leaves and that students should have been specifically warned about these products being investigated.”

CLERK AT VAPE STORE NEAR OLE MISS CAMPUS WARNED BUYER ‘THAT PEOPLE ARE DIEING’ FROM KRATOM PILLS, SAYS AFFIDAVIT

Robert Strang and Aidan Hamilton in a shared image provided by their families. (Strang Family, Kathleen Hamilton/Facebook)

The packages of the kratom items found near the two men were labeled “Smax, Pseudo-DHM,” which is a “Kratom-like substance at gas stations or tobacco stores” that people buy for “their narcotic effect,” according to court documents.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE FOX TRUE CRIME HUB

Hamilton made several purchases in September at the Puffs Vape, Tobacco and Beer Store in Oxford, where workers Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, 51, and Islam Mohamed, 18, were arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. Authorities did not indicate in court documents that the kratom found near him when he died came from that store. One of the purchases was made a day before Hamilton was found dead.

LISTEN TO THE NEW PODCAST “CRIME & JUSTICE WITH DONNA ROTUNNO”

Packages of synthetic kratom products, including Smax Pseudo-DHM and Smax Pseudo tablets, which authorities say were found at the scene where Robert Strang was discovered dead. (court files)

An hour after finding Hamilton dead, police were dispatched to a house near campus and found Strang dead. A package of “Smax, Pseudo-DHM” tablets was found on his nightstand, along with 20 to 30 cans of nitrous oxide, known as “whippets,” that Strang’s roommates said he used daily. Strang’s roommates told police he watched football and took a Xanax bar the day before he was found dead.

RECEIVE THE LATEST NEWS BY EMAIL

Officials said the synthetic kratom-derived product Strang purchased was purchased at a gas station about 30 minutes outside of Oxford.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Stewart Hall, a dormitory on the University of Mississippi campus, where an 18-year-old student reportedly died Monday. Dispatch records show first responders arrived within a minute of being dispatched to the address. (Adam Sabes/Fox News Digital)

The precise role that kratom played in the deaths of Hamilton and Strang has not yet been determined.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This report has been updated to add clarification from an official that toxicology reports were not completed as of Wednesday morning.