There have been a pair of developments with regards to Riley Strain, the 22-year-old who died in March after disappearing from Luke’s 32 Bridge in Nashville.
The first is that the toxicology report is complete. The second is the University of Missouri student’s family has hired injury lawyers to help with the next steps. It’s not clear if or how those two things are connected.
- Strain’s final stop on March 8 was at Luke’s 32 Bridge (named after Luke Bryan) on Broadway. The venue said he ordered one drink and a water.
- On March 22, his body was pulled out of the Cumberland River several miles from where he was last seen.
- Police say initial autopsy results show no signs of foul play.
Related: Was Riley Strain Drugged? Mom Hints at Possibility
Strain’s family have been quiet in recent weeks, after a flurry of news interviews in early to mid-April. The toxicology report is expected to hold clues as to what did and what didn’t happen to the man on March 8. If he was inebriated or taking any other drugs, those would appear.
Strain and his fraternity friends hit several bars before Luke’s 32 Bridge. There, he was kicked out and walked away alone, traveling north and east along the Cumberland River instead of due west to his hotel.
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Riley Strain Toxicology Report:
WSMV-TV in Nashville shares that the toxicology report is done, but it will be released with the full autopsy at an unknown date and time. It’s not clear if family got an early look and if that preview forced their next move.
The Nashville based TV station also shares that the Strain family has hired injury law firm Morgan & Morgan “to find answers and obtain justice for their son’s tragic and untimely death.”
After appearing in lock step with Metro Nashville Police during the first days and weeks of the investigation, Strain’s mother, father and stepfather have started to share separate opinions or thoughts about how their son ended up in the Cumberland River.
When the body was recovered, he wasn’t wearing pants, which authorities said wasn’t uncommon given river conditions. The family say he was most likely wearing a belt and wonder how his pants and boots came off. This opinion is backed up by a forensic expert who’s not connected to the case.
No witnesses have come forward to suggest Strain was drugged, but his mother, Michelle Whiteid, told NewsNation she got a text a few hours before he went missing that a rum and coke tasted like barbecue. It’s not clear if he drank it anyway.
Whiteid’s impression of his friends has also changed. Initially she shared how they were emotionally devastated by what happened, but in the weeks that followed, she admitted they won’t talk to her or the family and have kept a cool distance.
Strain’s body was found several miles downstream in the Cumberland on March 22. No one has been accused of or charged with any wrongdoing.
