Death a maddening mystery ; Despite probe, pleas for help from witnesses, questions persist — and parents remain determined to get the truth.
By Christine Vendel
Credit: The Kansas City Star
Friday, October 29, 2010
Edition: METROPOLITAN, Section: NATIONAL/LOCAL, Page A1
Two weeks ago, Kathy and Kevin Euston buried their middle son without knowing how he suffered the head injury that killed him.
They still don’t know -- despite a police investigation and pleas for witnesses to come forward. The maddening unsolved mystery makes their heartache worse.
They owe it to their son, they say, to uncover the truth.
"We just know there’s more to the story," Kathy said Thursday. "A good life is gone, but why?"
Brian Euston, 24, was found unconscious on a Westport sidewalk in the early hours of Oct. 10 with a devastating skull fracture, a split lip and scrapes on his shin.
Kansas City police are investigating whether he fell or whether someone "sucker-punched" him or pushed him down. His head apparently hit the concrete.
Police may have gotten a key clue Thursday when they interviewed a man who said he was at Westport Road and Mill Street, across from America’s Pub, when the bars were closing and people flooded the streets early that morning. He said he thought he saw a man punch Brian and then saw him fall.
Several witnesses took cell phone photos or videos of Brian on the ground. Some people posted them on social media websites but later removed them.
Police want to interview those witnesses and anyone else who might have seen Brian before 2:35 a.m., when security officers for Chesley Brown International called for an ambulance. Chesley Brown provides security for Westport. The security officers did not notify police.
Brian had gone to Westport with nine friends who left for home before he did.
Video surveillance shows Brian leaving Kelly’s Westport Inn, but then he disappears for a few minutes, said homicide Detective Darin Penrod, who is investigating the death.
Brian next is seen on video lying on the ground, Penrod said.
Brian’s parents said they believed he was walking to a taxi stand to get a ride to his Kansas City home. They know he probably had too much to drink, but they say they don’t believe he simply fell.
"We just want answers for closure," Kathy said.
Brian’s parents were in Europe visiting their youngest son, who is studying abroad, when he was injured. When they returned to their hotel from watching the Chiefs on TV in a bar in Barcelona, Spain, employees relayed an urgent message to call home.
They reached their oldest son, who told them Brian was in the intensive care unit and that they needed to get home as quickly as possible.
It was midnight overseas. The Eustons tried to change their flight online but couldn’t, so they drove to the airport. It was dark and desolate. The first morning flight didn’t leave for hours.
Kathy, a self-described optimist, tried to calm herself as they waited.
"I would tell myself, ‘It’s going to be OK. It’s not as bad as people think," she said.
They flew to Philadelphia, went through customs, then faced a security gate clogged with people.
They had 20 minutes to catch their connecting flight and about 100 people in line in front of them.
"That’s when I about lost it," Kathy said.
She poked the arm of the Transportation Security Administration agent and told him her son was in critical condition in a coma back home.
"I said, "Please, can we jump this line? We can’t miss our connecting flight.’ "
The agent apologized but said, "We have rules."
Her face melted.
"Oh, to hell with the rules," the agent said. He led her to the front of the line.
"We were ripping our belts and shoes off and hurrying as fast as we could," Kathy recalled.
The Eustons and their son Jack sat mostly silent and teary-eyed on their next two flights and arrived in Kansas City at 9:30 p.m. Oct. 11 -- about 43 hours after Brian was injured.
They left their luggage and headed straight to Truman Medical Center. They saw Brian, his face slightly swollen, his head partly shaved, hooked to numerous machines.
His body occasionally twitched. Kathy thought it might mean he would wake up. But doctors told her the twitching was normal and didn’t indicate progress.
She and her husband prayed for a miracle, held their son’s hands and talked to him.
Doctors performed tests the next day to search for brain activity. The tests found none. Kathy and Kevin and their three other children prepared to face relatives and friends in the waiting room to share the bad news.
"The six of us," Kathy said, but then corrected herself, "I mean, the five of us, we knew what it was going to show. We went into the waiting room and said, ‘He’s gone.’ "
Brian donated his organs. His parents buried him four days later, on Oct. 16.
"We were praying for a miracle," Kathy said. "There were so many people praying. If there could have been a miracle, there would have been a miracle. But I guess God is saving that for something else."
Brian excelled socially, even as a preschooler. His teacher told Kevin and Kathy that "Brian lives life with an exclamation point."
His friends always said he was the glue that held them together. He wanted to make people feel welcome. Teachers often would pair new students with Brian because he embraced them and introduced them to his friends.
"He was always the one to organize the fun," Kevin said. "People would call him and say, ‘What are we doing?’ There was many a sleepover at our house."
The third of four children, Brian grew up in Brookside and graduated in 2005 from Rockhurst High School, where he played football and baseball. He graduated from Oklahoma State University in December 2009 with a degree in hotel and restaurant management.
One summer, to make money for college, Brian worked as a "manny" for two boys, one of whom had a slight disability. The mother of the boys told Brian’s parents that Brian was a great role model for her kids.
A German hotel that caters to the military recruited Brian to work there for a year. Brian spent about nine months overseas. But then was ready to come home and had decided to pursue a career with better hours.
He returned to his parents’ home in mid-August and applied to several insurance companies.
"He was a natural," Kevin said. "He could have sold anything."
His mother found his resume opened on her laptop when she returned home from the hospital after he died.
The Eustons initially were told that their son’s death might have been an accident. They didn’t ask any questions.
"Our feeling was, let us bury him first," Kathy said. "Then we could figure out what happened. We thought that it would take care of itself."
But the answers haven’t come.
Police say they need more witnesses. Video of Westport that night shows the crowd and a few people using cell phones to take photos. But it doesn’t show anything to indicate a large, drawn-out fight.
That’s why police believe whatever happened, happened quickly.
"There was no one running. There was no flocking," said Penrod, the case detective. "It’s a troubling tragedy regardless. He was too young for that to happen."
His parents said they needed to know. Kathy wears a brave face, but said she walks around with a "sick feeling" in her stomach all the time.
She can’t bring herself to go through Brian’s belongings yet. She doesn’t want to hear all the rumors or tips. She just wants them forwarded to police.
"All we can count on now is for people to open up their hearts and share what they know," she said. "As a family, we’ll be strong. But for now, it’s a big heartache for all of us."
To reach Christine Vendel, call 816-234-4438 or send e-mail to [email protected].
WHERE TO CALL
Anyone with information on how Brian Euston died should call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (474-8477).
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