BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Investigators said a Bellingham teenager had marijuana and alcohol in her system when she was found dead in her bed early Saturday morning.
Bellingham police had initially thought 14-year-old Hazel Phair had been at a party Friday night. On Tuesday, police said they didn't believe she was at a party and didn't know where she had been.
The girl returned home between 2 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. Saturday.
When her mother found her in her bed at 6 a.m., she was not breathing, police said.
An autopsy revealed she likely choked on her own vomit.
KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reporter Deborah Horne met the victim’s father, Robert Phair, outside the Dean Avenue home he shares with his wife and daughters.
He said he suspected something was wrong when his daughter arrived home. He told police when Hazel came home Saturday night, she was very drunk.
Police said they were told the girl had been drinking vodka.
“If we find out that alcohol or marijuana contributed to her death, we will look at this, and the person that furnished the drugs and alcohol could be charged,” said Bellingham police Lt. Rick Sucee.
Officials won't know how much alcohol or marijuana was in the girl's system until toxicology tests are complete.
Robert Phair said Hazel was his middle daughter. She was in the eighth grade at Whatcom Middle School.
“She was very social. She just loved being the center of attention. She was my pride and joy,” said Phair.
KIRO
