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By JOHN DECKER; Times Leader Staff Writer
Friday, December 05, 1997 Page: 3A
KUTZTOWN- Toxicology tests have confirmed that a Kutztown University junior
from Fairview Township died last week of a heroin overdose, a Berks County
official said Thursday.
The Crestwood High School graduate died of an “acute overdose of heroin,”
said Deputy Coroner Brian Houp.
Police said they believe Anthony W. Yurkon, 21, of Park Lane, bought the
heroin in Philadelphia on Thanksgiving night.
During a drug task force meeting last month, Luzerne County District
Attorney Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. said five deaths in the county in September
were heroin-related. Tests on a sixth person were not released because of an
ongoing investigation.
Federal authorities believe Luzerne County’s deadly supply of heroin is
coming from Philadelphia and they are involved in trying to locate the source.
Houp said toxicology results cannot prove the potency of the heroin that
killed Yurkon and that “it is next to impossible” to determine if it was laced
with another chemical.
If some of the heroin had been left behind, he said, authorities might have
been able to check to determine the purity level or if the drug was tainted.
But only drug paraphernalia were found.
Yurkon was pronounced dead at 11:27 a.m. Friday in his Kutztown residence.
Houp said toxicology tests cannot determine previous heroin or other drug
use, and added that information could not be obtained that would indicate
whether Yurkon was a habitual drug user.
No other drugs or alcohol were found in Yurkon’s system, Houp said.
The manner of death remains undetermined, Houp said, because investigators
cannot say with certainty if the overdose was accidental or intentional.
Kutztown Police Chief Randy Cole said it is believed Yurkon obtained the
drugs during a trip to Philadelphia.
Yurkon’s mother, Bonnie, said recently that her son was home for
Thanksgiving, but sometime after dinner, he said he was going out to drink
with high school friend Sean Shank.
Shank could not be reached for comment.
Hours after Yurkon was found, she said, Shank told her they went to
Kutztown on Thursday night because her son wanted to show him his apartment.
Police say Shank found his friend’s body the next morning. Cole said Shank
was asleep in another room and didn’t realize for several hours that Yurkon
was dead.
Houp said he does not know when Yurkon died, but rigor mortis had set in by
the time he was pronounced dead.
Cole said there are no charges to file at this time. However, he said the
case will remain open with Philadelphia police because a death occurred due to
drug distribution in the city.
Vicki Mayk, a university spokesperson, said police have not asked the
school for assistance. She said plans are being made for a memorial service.
Anthony Yurkon