BROOKHAVEN, Ga. -- She was submerged in water inside a bathtub when her boyfriend said he woke up to check on her. She was unresponsive, so he pulled her out of the tub and into the bedroom.
He called 911 just before midnight. Emergency responders arrived but couldn’t save her. Twenty-four-year-old Lauren Nicole Camp was pronounced dead at 2:30 a.m. on Friday February 10, 2017.
At the time, police suspected that drugs were involved. Drugs and drug paraphernalia were collected from the scene. Crime scene pictures show dirty syringes and spoons in drawers of the home. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was called in to be a part of the investigation.
The GBI found " heroin, furanyl fentanyl, and cocaine in evidence," in the evidence from the crime scene. The DeKalb County Medical Examiner found both heroin and furanyl fentanyl in Camp's body.
They determined the drug that killed her to be "gray death." While Camp's death is the first confirmed death linked to Gray Death, the GBI said it's investigated nearly 50 cases of the drug statewide since March.
"We've seen heroin, we've seen heroin mixed with fentanyl, but where this is going is just something that really has everyone on high alert," said GBI spokesperson Nelly Miles.
"The gray material was found to contain a toxic cocktail of opiate drugs," the GBI said in a statement. "The ingredients vary, but often contain heroin, fentanyl, furanyl fentanyl, and U-47700 mixed together in the same powder. The solid material has the appearance of gray concrete mixing powder, with texture variations from light/powdery to chunky/rock-like."
It's gray and has the look of concrete. According to reports, the drug is 10,000 times more potent than morphine, 100 times more powerful than fentanyl, and includes an elephant tranquilizer called Carfentanil
Gray death is transdermal, which means it can be absorbed through the skin, nose and eyes. It's so potent that GBI lab safety gear had to be upgraded to handle the drug, according to Deneen Kilcrease.
"We took it a step further we now require a face mask, particle mask," Kilcrease said. "We also mandate a buddy system" so that one person is never handling the drug alone.
The "gray death" is an opoid that can kill in a single dose, according to authorities.
