Dennis Wilson Clues

[Surfer]

I found something.  When Dennis Wilson Drowned something happened.  First read this first Sheriff's deputies said he had spent much of the afternoon on a yacht, The Emerald, berthed at the marina. They said he was diving and swimming near the boat with its owner and two young women.

According to the authorities, he dived into the water from a slip beside the boat about 4:25 P.M. but did not surface. After waitng a few minutes, his friends called the Harbor Patrol and lifeguards. No Foul Play Is Seen

Sheriff's Department homicide inspectors were called to the scene, but spokesmen said there was no reason to suspect that the death was not an accident. Spokesmen said there was no immediate reason to suspect that drugs or alcohol was involved in his death.   If he was good at swimming and going Surfing how could he drown?  Again something happened. Him.  I mean did he hit the Boat with his head or banged his head on a Rock? 

[You Kane, You Commanded, You Conquered]

I'm pretty sure he hit his head on a rock...

[Andrew G. Doe]

There are people who feel that when he was down there, he decided enough was enough. I'm one of them.

[Andrew G. Doe]

I'm pretty sure he hit his head on a rock...

In a man made marina ?

[You Kane, You Commanded, You Conquered]

I'm pretty sure he hit his head on a rock...

In a man made marina ?

Ack, I forgot about that.

[Fire Wind]

There are people who feel that when he was down there, he decided enough was enough. I'm one of them.

Can one decide enough is enough and simply drown without the body panicking and making you head to the surface?

Other than that, did I read somewhere he might have hit his head on the boat or the motor blade or something when trying to surface?

[Andrew G. Doe]

The searchers found him curled up on the marina floor under The Emerald, calm expression.

[Emily]

I remember reading it was cold enough water to freeze and he had been drinking enough to not notice. I've also read that freezing to death is a slow, slowly feeling drowsy and shutting down process.

[ChicagoAnn]

There are people who feel that when he was down there, he decided enough was enough. I'm one of them.

I suspect this is accurate. I think he was just. plain. tired.

[NOLA BB Fan]

As recounted in Scott Wilson's "Son of a Beach Boy," Dennis told his son that he had seen a doctor who told him that his liver was shot and that he was dying.
Perhaps in that water he experienced some difficulty and decided that he didn't want to fight it, and just let go.

[Gerry]

There is something called "shallow water blackout" caused by hyperventilation which sounds very much like what happened to Dennis. My own opinion was that it was an accident that alcohol  played a part in. I don't buy the theory that Dennis just gave up, as tragically romantic as that may sound.

[Gertie J.]

^ +1

[ChicagoAnn]

There is something called "shallow water blackout" caused by hyperventilation which sounds very much like what happened to Dennis. My own opinion was that it was an accident that alcohol  played a part in. I don't buy the theory that Dennis just gave up, as tragically romantic as that may sound.

I don't find it romantic, although it may seem so from my statement above. The cold water, multiple dives, and hypothermia no doubt played a part. IIRC, there was no indication that he'd hit his head according the autopsy?  Maybe I've just been around long enough to know that sometimes people are just done. It's not an active choice, just a sort of..ok.

[Andrew G. Doe]

I remember reading it was cold enough water to freeze and he had been drinking enough to not notice. I've also read that freezing to death is a slow, slowly feeling drowsy and shutting down process.

The water temperature was 58f/14c. Cold, chilling even, but far from freezing.

[Andrew G. Doe]

As recounted in Scott Wilson's "Son of a Beach Boy," Dennis told his son that he had seen a doctor who told him that his liver was shot and that he was dying.
Perhaps in that water he experienced some difficulty and decided that he didn't want to fight it, and just let go.

No mention of that in the autopsy.

[Andrew G. Doe]

There is something called "shallow water blackout" caused by hyperventilation which sounds very much like what happened to Dennis. My own opinion was that it was an accident that alcohol  played a part in. I don't buy the theory that Dennis just gave up, as tragically romantic as that may sound.

Dennis was homeless, penniless and was kicked out of the band he loved, and helped form, three months previously. He was finding items he'd thrown overboard from The Harmony when it was docked where he was diving. Hardly a positive mindset. I'm not saying his was a concious act, that he was diving with that intent, rather that he just wanted a rest.

[ReggieDunbar]

From the book "Coroner at Large".

[Andrew G. Doe]

Were that the case he would have struggled to surface, not curled up on the bottom.

[mikeddonn]

Were that the case he would have struggled to surface, not curled up on the bottom.

Maybe I'm being naive.  How could someone just choose to sit on the bottom and drown?  If you try it the next time you are in the water you would find how difficult it is to curl up at the bottom without floating back up.

Then there is the body's natural reaction to scramble for air and try to get to the top.

I'm sorry but I find it hard to believe Dennis just 'gave up'.  The eyewitnesses said he was in good spirits that day.  He had overcome far worse than his financial problems at the time and losing the boat.  It was a tragic drowning accident.

[Gertie J.]

well said dude.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Were that the case he would have struggled to surface, not curled up on the bottom.

Maybe I'm being naive.  How could someone just choose to sit on the bottom and drown?  If you try it the next time you are in the water you would find how difficult it is to curl up at the bottom without floating back up.

But that's exactly what happened.

Then there is the body's natural reaction to scramble for air and try to get to the top.

I'm sorry but I find it hard to believe Dennis just 'gave up'.  The eyewitnesses said he was in good spirits that day.  He had overcome far worse than his financial problems at the time and losing the boat.  It was a tragic drowning accident.

If Scott's claim is true, and Dennis had been told he was dying... you see where I'm headed. The recovery team know what drowning victims look like after they've struggling for life, and Dennis didn't show those signs. He just... let go.

[AndrewHickey]

Were that the case he would have struggled to surface, not curled up on the bottom.

Maybe I'm being naive.  How could someone just choose to sit on the bottom and drown?  If you try it the next time you are in the water you would find how difficult it is to curl up at the bottom without floating back up.

Then there is the body's natural reaction to scramble for air and try to get to the top.

I'm sorry but I find it hard to believe Dennis just 'gave up'.  The eyewitnesses said he was in good spirits that day.  He had overcome far worse than his financial problems at the time and losing the boat.  It was a tragic drowning accident.

He was found underneath the boat. The boat would, presumably, have stopped him surfacing if he was under it. I don't like to speculate on what happened, but being under, rather than near, the boat, does change the logistics of things, whether deliberate (choosing to be under the boat so he wouldn't come up) or accidental (being under the boat when he ran out of air, unable to surface because the boat was in the way).

[Paul J B]

Were that the case he would have struggled to surface, not curled up on the bottom.

Maybe I'm being naive.  How could someone just choose to sit on the bottom and drown?  If you try it the next time you are in the water you would find how difficult it is to curl up at the bottom without floating back up.

Then there is the body's natural reaction to scramble for air and try to get to the top.

I'm sorry but I find it hard to believe Dennis just 'gave up'.  The eyewitnesses said he was in good spirits that day.  He had overcome far worse than his financial problems at the time and losing the boat.  It was a tragic drowning accident.

He was also going back and forth to the boat his acquaintance/friend took him out in. Sorry, but I don't think for a minute something caused him to just say....heck...I'm done...and just decide to drown himself with his pal waiting for him in the boat above. That's way to far of a stretch. As far as being curled up here or there or whatever...there are likely many, many variables that would explain the state of a corpse in cold murky water.

[Emily]

I remember reading it was cold enough water to freeze and he had been drinking enough to not notice. I've also read that freezing to death is a slow, slowly feeling drowsy and shutting down process.

The water temperature was 58f/14c. Cold, chilling even, but far from freezing.

I shouldn't have used the term 'freeze' I suppose, because people confuse that with the freezing temperature of water, but the freezing temperature for humans in water is about 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
http://www.ussartf.org/cold_water_survival.htm
One can easily freeze in water that's 58 degrees. Surrounded by that temp for as long as he was diving will bring your body temp way down.
http://www.gslmarina.com/HypothermiaChart/tabid/82/Default.aspx

[Andrew G. Doe]

He was also going back and forth to the boat his acquaintance/friend took him out in.

Not sure what you're saying here - The Emerald was moored in the marina, not under way or out at sea.