Partying ways get a judge’s rebuke
Published 10:51 pm Wednesday, May 21, 2008
EVERETT — A judge on Wednesday warned a former Marysville woman she could land behind bars if she posted any more pictures on her MySpace account that depict her partying or drinking alcohol while she awaits trial in the overdose death of Kyla Helvey.
What happened to Helvey, 21, was a tragedy, Superior Court Judge Linda Krese said. She advised Brooke James, 21, to take the situation seriously and act appropriately.
“This is not a time to put partying and having fun first,” Krese said.
James and Mallori Smith, 23, of Lake Stevens have been charged in connection with Helvey’s Sept. 11 death. The pair are accused of providing Helvey a potent rave party drug last fall. Helvey collapsed in front of the women but they didn’t summon aid until the next morning when they noticed that Helvey was unresponsive, according to court documents.
Prosecutors on Wednesday increased the charge against James to first-degree manslaughter, with her alleged lack of remorse as an aggravating factor.
If convicted, James faces almost twice as much time behind bars as Smith, who remains charged with controlled-substance homicide.
Family and friends of Helvey and James filled the courtroom on Wednesday. Prosecutors argued that the former Marysville woman should be jailed until her trial.
Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Jeremy Bartels argued that James had violated the conditions of her release, and if she wasn’t put in jail, she shouldn’t be allowed to leave Washington.
James has been allowed to live in California since her arraignment earlier this year. Prosecutors alleged that James traveled to Arizona with friends, and pictures of her outside a nightclub showed up on her MySpace account.
Bartels said she was allowed to leave Washington only to pursue career opportunities that she couldn’t get here. James has been bouncing around from part-time job to part-time job, Bartels said. She violated the terms of her release and ignored the orders of the court, he said.
James’ attorney Jon Zulauf argued that James was allowed to live in California because she had rented an apartment. She has been trying to get better work. She checks in with him and shows up for court hearings. She hasn’t been drinking alcohol and isn’t a danger to the community, Zulauf said.
She did make a mistake when she posted pictures on her MySpace account, he added.
Krese ruled that James can continue living in California pending the trial, but warned James she wouldn’t give her a second chance.
Helvey died Sept. 11 after she took gamma-hydroxybutyric acid, which is known as GHB. Besides rave parties, GHB is a known date-rape drug and sometimes used by body builders.
According to documents, the three women got together to soak in a hot tub and have some drinks. Smith started talking about GHB and said someone left the drug at her place in a water bottle after a party, papers said.
Both defendants told Helvey about the dangers of the drug and warned her not to take too much, papers said. Smith and James put small amounts into their drinks. Helvey drank straight from the water bottle containing GHB, according to documents.
When Helvey passed out, the other two tried to rouse her but couldn’t. They got some blankets and pillows for her, and let her sleep, snoring “real loud,” documents said.
Helvey was dead by morning.
Helvey died from acute intoxication, a combined effect of GHB and alcohol consumption, deputy prosecutor Mara Rozzano said in charging papers.
The amount of GHB in her system was three times the amount that would have put her into a coma, Rozzano said.
If her companions had sought aid for Helvey when she collapsed, “Kyla would not have died,” Rozzano wrote.
Helvey wasn’t into illegal drugs, and what happened the night she got together with Smith and James was out of character, her friends have said.
Helvey had been attending massage therapy school and had just landed a job with a dental office the day she died.
Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.
