Rare News Desk
Marine sniper Rob Richards had just put his controversial past behind him. Richards had been among a group of scout snipers who had videotaped themselves urinating on the bodies of Taliban fighters, which ultimately led to an honorable discharge, with Richards losing a rank after a year-long adjudication. Richards was then medically retired, and he and his wife were preparing to move to Florida, where they were bidding on houses and he had registered for college. Then his wife, Raechel, came home from her job as a real estate broker and found him on the kitchen floor. His death was unexpected and unexplained, and now, a newly published autopsy report rules that he died from drug toxicity.
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Richards death was ruled accidental, due to oxymorphone toxicity. Oxymorphone is the active drug in Opana, one of the multiple medications Richards was taking before he died. The autopsy report also revealed that Richards had been using heroin, steroids, and alcohol. Raechel acknowledged the heroin use, saying that he used it for four months due to pain, but then sought treatment and had been clean for six months.
Richards had survived serious injuries from a 2010 deployment to Afghanistan, where he was hit by an IED blast that sent shrapnel into his legs, arms, and back, and a nut the size of a quarter into his throat. Those injuries would have qualified him for 100 percent disability, and he struggled with depression and PTSD. But he battled back and volunteered to deploy with another scout sniper unit, quitting his medications and deploying for the last time.
After he returned home, his physical pain caused him to be bedridden for days or weeks at a time. He also struggled with the notoriety and controversy surrounding the urination video. His doctors prescribed a number of medications to him, including Opana, Abilify, Propanolol, Adderall, and more. Three weeks before his death, his doctors had adjusted his medications, with Opana being one of the new drugs. But Richards planned quit them all after they moved to Florida, and to try natural pain management instead. In the weeks before he died, they had noticed worrying side effects. He would break out into cold sweats, and in one instance, passed out while driving, in the middle of a sentence.
The autopsy report indicated that fourteen pills were missing from his Opana prescription, although Raechel and her lawyer say they believe he did not exceed his recommended dosage. There was no alcohol in his system, just the medications that were prescribed to him and in the Richards home. His previous heroin use could have affected his liver, though, which would then increase or decrease the potency of prescription medication, depending on the condition his liver was in.
For her part, Raechel is now reaching out to other combat veterans, asking them to be careful about the medications they are taking, and to be aware of potential risks. Raising awareness about these risks has become her new passion. “Just because a doctor tells you to take a medicine doesn’t mean you should be taking it.”
