A Colorado father is crushed after the death of his 17-year-old son, who ordered online what his father thought was just an athletic supplement his son would use to get a competitive edge in soccer.
Tragically, teen Bennett Brown had actually ordered sodium nitrite, a dangerous chemical that can be used to kill yourself. And that is what Bennett did the day after his package arrived in the mail.
Bennett’s father, Bruce Brown, said it all seemed so normal it wouldn’t raise an eyebrow, but that was a mistake. He said his son paid $13 for the chemical and it arrived on his doorstep in just two days. “That was the cost of my son’s life,” Brown said.
Brown, formerly a district attorney, said his son’s mental health had been in decline. Bennett started doing poorly during the lockdowns in the pandemic when he could no longer meet with others at school and socialize. His father said Bennett also had “long covid” and his breathing difficulties made it hard to sleep at night, and made him afraid to leave the house.
But the boy also suffered a concussion after taking a fall and had to drop out of Arizona State University, where he had been majoring in English. Father Bruce Bennett said he was not aware before that suicide can be an outcome of concussion, “Nobody told me that.” He said he thought the injury aggravated problems that his son was already having with his emotions.
Sodium nitrite is a common ingredient in many foods and household products; its most well-known use is in curing meats like bacon, and it helps meat to retain its red color. In ordinary concentrations it is harmless, but taken in quantity the chemical is fatal. Bruce said his son learned about this method of ending your life from an online forum that give people encouragement and instruction on killing themselves.
When someone takes in too much sodium nitrite, it causes a condition called “methemoglobinemia.” Dr Sean MCann of the University of Illinois Hospital explained the chemical takes away the blood’s ability to carry oxygen.
The Centers for Disease Control says that deaths by sodium nitrite are spiking, and in part because of websites like the one Bennett Brown unfortunately visited. A study published in January of this year said that the “average victim” of a sodium nitrite suicide is a young white male with a history of depression and suicidal thoughts.
Even more tragically, it appears Bennett Brown had second thoughts after ingesting the chemical, but it was too late.
