Botetourt County Sheriff's Report on Freddie Hutchins' Death

By: Lowell
Published On: 9/2/2008 9:49:46 PM

Needless to say, this is very sad:

Botetourt County Sheriff Ronnie N. Sprinkle announced today that the Office of the Medical Examiner for Southwest Virginia has ruled that the July 29 death of 26-year-old Frederick Wayne Hutchins, Jr., of Roanoke, was a suicide.

Rest in peace, Freddie.

P.S. You can leave your thoughts on Freddie Hutchins' guest book here.

Comments



Last words... (cycle12 - 9/2/2008 11:52:32 PM)
My last words with Fred Hutchins were in a telephone conversation between us on the Friday afternoon before his Tuesday morning death.  As I have explained previously here and elsewhere, at 26 years Fred was in between my two sons in age and he was like a special, part-time third son to me.

Ever since we worked together in Jim Webb's successful 2006 U. S. Senate campaign, Fred and I constantly teased each other and gave one another a hard time, and this final conversation was no exception to that ongoing practice.

Fred had been having increasingly severe migraine headaches in the four to six weeks prior to his death, and I had called to check on him once more.  He was upbeat and positive as he explained the diagnosis that he had received from the UVA medical center and their suggested treatments.

At one point in our discussion, Fred mentioned the top of his head "...where some men first start getting male pattern baldness..." and I said, "Thanks for the reminder..." referring to my own increasingly large bald spot.

Fred emitted his usual full throated laugh and then replied, "I'd be the last to criticize anyone else's hairline since I've added a couple of inches to my own forehead in the past few years!"

We talked for a few minutes more and I again reminded Fred of how proud I was of him for having accomplished so much early in life and how important people in his age group were to our Party and to the future of our cause, and he thanked me.

Had I known he was so troubled, I would have stayed on the telephone with Fred for a long, long time...

Steve



What a Loss! (Jim K. - 9/3/2008 10:55:36 AM)
I met Freddie during the 2006 Webb campaign when I dealt with him on Sportsmen for Webb matters. Although I met with him in person only once, off an Interstate 81 Roanoke exit ramp to get from him a ton of Sportsmen for Webb bumper stickers, I also had several cell phone exchanges with him in the course of the campaign.  In these brief encounters, I quickly sensed that he was a high quality person on many counts.  I'm sure that his passing will leave many, many people greatly saddened.