Fatal dose of heroin given to Google exec was 'accidental,' attorney says

Fatal dose of heroin given to Google exec was ‘accidental,’ attorney says

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Alix Tichelman, 26, left, and her attorney, Athena Reis, in Santa Cruz Superior Court in July where Tichelman pleaded not guilty to manslaughter, destroying evidence and several other charges in the November heroin overdose death of Google executive Forrest Hayes.

(Monica Davey / EPA)

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Alix Tichelman looks back toward her family in the public seating area after her arraignment in Santa Cruz County Superior Court in July.

(Shmuel Thaler / Associated Press)

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Public defenders Jerry Christensen, far left, Larry Biggam and Athena Reis answer reporters’ questions at the Santa Cruz County Courthouse after their client, Alix Tichelman, was arraigned in the death of Forrest Hayes, a Google executive, by heroin overdose in November.

(Shmuel Thaler / Associated Press)

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Alix Tichelman, left, confers with public defender Diane August during a court appearance in Santa Cruz Superior Court on July 9. (Shmuel Thaler / Associated Press)

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A car sits in the driveway of the Folsom house that is listed as the residence of Bart Tichelman, father of Alix Tichelman, who has been charged in the death of Silicon Valley executive Forrest Hayes. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

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A message is taped to the door of the Folsom home that is listed as the residence of Bart Tichelman, father of Alix Tichelman, who is a suspect in the death of Forrest Hayes. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

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This undated photo provided by NorthFulton.com shows Dean Riopelle, 53, who died of a heroin overdose in September 2013 in Milton, Ga., about two months before tech executive Forrest Hayes died of an overdose on his yacht in Santa Cruz. (Jonathan Copsey / Associated Press)

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The house where bar owner Dean Riopelle overdosed Sept. 17, 2013, while at home with his girlfriend, Alix Tichelman, in Milton, Ga. (Ron Harris / Associated Press)

By Joseph Serna

Oct. 20, 2014 3:50 PM PT

A moment of panic led a high-priced escort to leave without calling for help after she gave a Google executive a fatal dose of heroin on his yacht, her attorneys said Monday.

Alix Tichelman, 26, is accused of manslaughter, prostitution and drug possession among other charges in connection with the 2013 death of Silicon Valley executive Forrest Hayes, 51, aboard his yacht, the Escape.

In a 15-minute talk with reporters outside a Santa Cruz County courthouse Monday, Tichelman’s attorneys acknowledge she injected heroin into Hayes, who collapsed and died. But the dose wasn’t intentionally lethal and her actions afterward--which included tidying up the room but not calling 911-- were done out of panic, not callousness, according to her attorneys.

“My client did nothing to Mr. Hayes that he didn’t want to happen to him,” said attorney Larry Biggam. “It was an accident…it’s a sad case that’s deeply affected two families.”

Tichelman’s attorneys criticized investigators’ description of her as calculating. While authorities suggest she tried to hide Hayes’ death by closing the blinds in the yacht when she left, her attorneys note that she also left two of the yacht’s doors open.

“This was something that was panic,” said defense attorney Gerald Christensen.

Tichelman and Hayes had reportedly met on the website SeekingArriangement.com, and had maintained an “ongoing prostitution relationship,” according to police.

The circumstances of Hayes’ death have prompted police in Georgia to reexamine the case of 53-year-old Dean Riopelle, who died in the presence of Tichelman in his suburban Atlanta home in 2013.

Riopelle, owner of the Masquerade nightclub, died of what was ruled an accidental heroin and alcohol overdose while Tichelman, whom he was dating, was in the shower, police in Milton, Ga., said.

Tichelman has pleaded not guilty in the Santa Cruz case and has not been charged in Riopelle’s death in Georgia. She’s due back in court in December.

For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna.