Questions about Dennis's death

[Jay]

I've been reading about the circumstances of Dennis's death, and something doesn't seem right. From the time that he last dove in to the water, to when his body was found was a total of forty minutes. Don't you think that that's quite a long time? Also, everybody who was there seems to have gone off to check all the local bars. Why didn't somebody immediately jump into the water after a minute or so of waiting for Dennis to resurface? The thing that gets me is, what happened that last time Dennis went under? Is it that difficult to swim while drunk? I've never tried it(and don't plan to), but drowning in only twelve feet of water(according to a news broadcast) seems pretty hard to do, even if you're drunk. When Dennis's body was found, did he have any head wounds? I could understand it if he hit his head and was knocked unconscious.

[SloopJohnB]

Is it that difficult to swim while drunk?

Yes, especially in December. Alcohol speeds up body heat loss, among other effects.

[shelter]

I once read that 69% of all drowning accidents are alcohol related. So diving when you're drunk clearly isn't a smart thing to do.

[absinthe_boy]

12 feet of water is a hell of a lot once you start getting some in your lungs. Drunk people have drowned in puddles.

[The Shift]

Hi Jay, 

You've posted before back in June about Dennis's body being buried at sea...

Do you have a theory about his death which you think might not have been investigated before?

You've got me curious!

[Alex]

Could it have been suicide?   



...or was it (cue spooky music)...MURDER?!
Mike Love drowned Dennis as revenge for hooking up with his daughter Shawn.
....just kidding


But seriously, was suicide ever ruled out as a cause of death?

[The Heartical Don]

Could it have been suicide?   



...or was it (cue spooky music)...MURDER?!
Mike Love drowned Dennis as revenge for hooking up with his daughter Shawn.
....just kidding


But seriously, was suicide ever ruled out as a cause of death?

I for one thought about this more than once. He hinted about how fast his life was on several occasions, and that, together with the state he'd brought himself in, made me think: I'll never see this guy with a pipe and in slippers at old age.
He might have had just the 'right' combination of heavy alcohol and pills within him to simply let go of it all whilst under water; and the fact that he was diving for memories of past glories only accentuates the possibility of suicide for me.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Denny's body showed no signs of struggling, his expression was calm, tranquil. You could call it suicide, you could call it bad judgment. I think he just decided it was time to let go and stop hurting all the time.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Beautifully put.

[Thunderfingers75]

Had the Harmony already been pulled out of the water? Was he diving under and trying to swim into the boat to get stuff or was he just trying to find things on the ocean floor. Some of those last pictures of him looked pretty bad, he was starting to get that washed out look in his face that some serious alcoholics get. Sad story.

[37!ws]

Didn't Jon Stebbins say that Dennis was found in the fetal position??? Like to know his source on that...

[Andrew G. Doe]

Had the Harmony already been pulled out of the water? Was he diving under and trying to swim into the boat to get stuff or was he just trying to find things on the ocean floor. Some of those last pictures of him looked pretty bad, he was starting to get that washed out look in his face that some serious alcoholics get. Sad story.

The Harmony hadn't been berthed there for some time - Dennis was diving where it used to be, and under The Emerald, retrieving stuff from the dock floor.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Didn't Jon Stebbins say that Dennis was found in the fetal position??? Like to know his source on that...

Pretty sure that came from the official report on Denny's death.

[Alex]

I would've loved to meet Dennis, even just for a brief moment such as an autograph signing or a handshake, or just a "Hey, Dennis I'm a huge fan!" "Thanks, hope you enjoyed the concert", or something like that. Unfortunately, I wasn't even born yet when he died.

[DonnaK]

According to Tom Noguchi's (the coroner at that time) report, Dennis had a bruise on his head. Maybe he tried to surface and hit his head on a piling rendering him unconscious. I read this in Dr. Noguchi's book Coroner At Large, published in 1985.

[Wilsonista]

This is very strange.

I had had an argument with a dear friend many years ago about teh nature of Dennis' death.  She claims to have heard Brian on a radio show saying that Dennis took his own life. I said that was bullcrap, it was an accidental drowning. We both passed the argument off as teenaged bickering and forgot about it. And I never thought anything of it until many years later, I read a post that essntially what AGD just said: Dennis showed no signs of struggle and was found in a fetal position.

Did Brian ever actually say that? Looking back, I could easily imagine him saying something like that.

[Jay]

I have been under water, and "let go" for a few seconds. It's a very calm, peaceful feeling. Almost "spiritual". As much as this bothers me to say as a big Dennis fan, I could see Dennis "letting go" and waiting for that white light to take him away. To take him home.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Also, Brian back in 1985 apparently tried to do the same thing.

[Wilsonista]

I have been under water, and "let go" for a few seconds. It's a very calm, peaceful feeling. Almost "spiritual". As much as this bothers me to say as a big Dennis fan, I could see Dennis "letting go" and waiting for that white light to take him away. To take him home.

As sad as this will sound, maybe that was the most humane thing Dennis could have done to himself.

[Jay]

Hi Jay, 

You've posted before back in June about Dennis's body being buried at sea...

Do you have a theory about his death which you think might not have been investigated before?

You've got me curious!

Whoever was with Dennis decided to look around all the local bars, and areas where Dennis might have gone to play a trick on whoever was with him(I forget who it was). If I would have been there, I would have jumped in after him, after two minutes or so of waiting. When somebody dives under water, and you don't see bubbles rise to the surface, something is very wrong. My whole point is, could Dennis's death have been prevented?

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Prevented? Eh...more like "postponed". He was in a bad way, and to be honest, it was only a matter of time before something did him in.

[Andrew G. Doe]

This is very strange.

I had had an argument with a dear friend many years ago about teh nature of Dennis' death.  She claims to have heard Brian on a radio show saying that Dennis took his own life. I said that was bullcrap, it was an accidental drowning. We both passed the argument off as teenaged bickering and forgot about it. And I never thought anything of it until many years later, I read a post that essntially what AGD just said: Dennis showed no signs of struggle and was found in a fetal position.

Did Brian ever actually say that? Looking back, I could easily imagine him saying something like that.

Brian has said during a very recent interview that he never even knew Dennis released a solo album, which is of course complete nonsense. Sorry, but Brian is not a reliable source.

[Jason]

But...but...but...if Brian says it it just has to be true.

[The Heartical Don]

This is very strange.

I had had an argument with a dear friend many years ago about teh nature of Dennis' death.  She claims to have heard Brian on a radio show saying that Dennis took his own life. I said that was bullcrap, it was an accidental drowning. We both passed the argument off as teenaged bickering and forgot about it. And I never thought anything of it until many years later, I read a post that essntially what AGD just said: Dennis showed no signs of struggle and was found in a fetal position.

Did Brian ever actually say that? Looking back, I could easily imagine him saying something like that.

Brian has said during a very recent interview that he never even knew Dennis released a solo album, which is of course complete nonsense. Sorry, but Brian is not a reliable source.

Does Brian know that Mike released a solo album? Should he hear it to confirm its brilliance?

[GoofyJeff]

Does Brian know that Mike released a solo album?

If he hasn't heard it, he really should.  It's got "Be My Baby" on it