I really don’t follow the LPGA, but Erica was a really pretty woman. And maybe some other golfer on the ladies tour didn’t like the money she was getting in endorsements because of her good looks instead of her performance on the fairway.
Just a thought.
From New York Post:
The distraught father of a young pro golfer who mysteriously died at home Sunday said yesterday there is something "very, very strange" about his daughter's death.
Police in Henderson, a Las Vegas suburb, are investigating the sudden death of Erica Blasberg, a 25-year-old whose girl-next-door beauty won her corporate endorsements despite her lackluster performance on the Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour.
"At first glance, it looks like she might have taken her own life, but at second glance, something is very, very strange about it," Mel Blasberg, 63, told the Riverside Press-Enterprise.
Her bags were packed and she was scheduled to fly to Alabama that afternoon to compete, according to family and friends.
"We're waiting for the police to make an investigation," he told the Riverside Press-Enterprise, his hometown paper in Corona, Calif. "Either way, I lost her, and it's impossible to deal with."
Henderson police have not yet revealed the cause of death.
Via New York Post
UPDATE From ABC News
The father of golfer Erica Blasberg said today he does not believe his daughter committed suicide, but the coroner's office said it could take as long as three months to determine the cause of death.
Mel Blasberg told ABC News that he was bewildered by the death of his 25-year-old daughter, a golf pro who was supposed to rejoin the LPGA tour this past weekend in an Alabama tournament.
Instead, she was found dead in her bed by a friend on Sunday.
"We don't know what happened," her father said. "It's just difficult for us."
"There are questions that have to be answered and I trust that we'll get answers," he said.
Henderson Police are holding off on the cause of death pending their investigation and the results of a toxicology screening by the Clark County Coroner. A spokesperson for the coroner said it could take up to 12 weeks to determine the cause of death while the office awaits lab results.
Cleveland Golf, the equipment and apparel maker, had sent Blasberg a brand new bag. "She was the only one in the world who had this special bag because she represents the ladies line," her father said.
He said the new golf bag, along with her travel bag, was in the trunk of her car, ready for her drive to the airport Saturday morning.
"This was a very motivated person to get to Alabama this week," he said.
Blasberg never made her flight.
Henderson police spokesman Keith Paul told ABCNews.com that police responded to a 911 call at Blasberg's suburban three-bedroom house at 3:15 p.m. Sunday.
Paul declined to name the person who made the call, saying it was part of the investigation.
But Mel Blasberg told ABC affiliate KTNV that there were no obvious signs of trauma to her body.
Purple ribbons will be worn by the players at the event in Alabama in honor of Blasberg.
"I don't know if it was a suicide or homicide, but I can never imagine her being a person to take her own life or someone wanting to hurt her," her former University of Arizona teammate, Laura Ianello, told ABCNews.com.
Greg Allen, her former Arizona coach, said, "I don't know what the reports are going to be," in an interview with ABCNews.com. "I want her to be remembered as that sweet, sweet girl who loved life and being around people, who liked to cut up and have fun."
Her first day of practice at Arizona, Blasberg was given the nickname "Skip."
UPDATE Aug 25, 2010 Erica Blasberg’s Death Rules Suicide Doctor Arrested for Removing Items from Scene
I think there’s more to this case than just suicide.
ESPN reports the Clark County coroner's office ruled Tuesday that 25-year-old professional golfer Erica Blasberg's death was a suicide.
Blasberg died May 9 at her home in Henderson, about 15 miles southeast of the Las Vegas Strip. She was found with a plastic bag secured over her head.
Blasberg
Henderson police said that while no foul play is suspected they have issued a misdemeanor arrest warrant for Dr. Thomas Hess on obstruction charges. Police said Hess, who discovered Blasberg's body, removed items from the scene, including a suicide note.
The contents of the note haven't been disclosed.
Hess turned himself into authorities, was booked into jail and released about 35 minutes later after posting $637 in bail Tuesday afternoon, Henderson police spokesman Keith Paul said.
David Mincavage, an assistant city attorney in Henderson, said the nonviolent misdemeanor charges against Hess carry a maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine and six months in jail.
Mincavage said he could not comment further on the case, and Paul declined to say whether additional charges were possible.
The coroner's office said Blasberg died of suicide due to asphyxia, coupled with the presence of toxic levels of prescription medication in her system, including prescription headache, cough, pain and anti-anxiety medications.
The drugs in Blasberg's system included butalbital, temazepam, alprazolam, codeine, hydrocodone and tramadol, according to the coroner, but Nevada law doesn't permit the release of details on the amounts of medication.
"While asphyxia was the primary cause of death, the presence of prescription drugs in Ms. Blasberg's system was a significant factor," coroner Michael Murphy said.
A 911 call from Hess that summoned police came from the house, and Blasberg was alone when officers arrived, police have said. Blasberg's agent said her bags were packed for a tournament in Mobile, Ala., when she was found.
The death investigation was complicated, police said, because Hess admitted altering the scene -- including the removal of the note indicating Blasberg took her own life -- and he stopped cooperating with detectives. Hess hid the note and prescription medications in his vehicle.
In a 911 call obtained from police by The Associated Press, Hess says he came to the house to check on her after she didn't leave for the tournament.
"I called her yesterday, she was supposed to be leaving for a golf tournament but she didn't," an agitated Hess said on the call. "She picked up the phone and she sounded intoxicated at that time."
Hess said Blasberg had consumed a "couple drinks" and was sad the night before her death but didn't indicate she wanted to kill herself.
When asked by the female operator whether Blasberg was beyond resuscitation, Hess replied: "I'm a doctor."
But Hess didn't say he was Blasberg's doctor, instead saying he "knew her from the golf club."
When the operator told Hess she was sending police, she asked him to wait outside the house.
"Try not to touch anything," she said.
"Yes ma'am," he replied.
A Blasberg family attorney told ESPN he is in the process of determining the exact nature of the relationship between the golfer and Hess, but Blasberg's father, Mel Blasberg, told "Outside the Lines" that he believes Hess and his daughter were involved in an "intimate" relationship.
Calls from The Associated Press to Blasberg's father, her agent Chase Callahan and Hess' lawyer Charles Kelly were not immediately returned.
The Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners in Reno said Hess' medical license is active and he has had no disciplinary action or pending complaints. He got his license to practice in Nevada in July 2003.
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