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A shot in the dark?

Posted: Tuesday, January 16, 2007 4:05 PM by Dateline Editor
Filed Under: ,

Everyone knows politics can be a dangerous game -- sometimes, even deadly. So when Kathy Augustine, a powerful and controversial Nevada politician died under suspicious circumstances, rumors flew about possible enemies she'd made in the halls of power.

But could it be that her killer was someone a lot closer to home? Politics may make strange, and even treacherous, bedfellows... but so do some marriages. Was that the case here?

Tonight, Dateline Correspondent Hoda Kotb reports on "Til Death Do Us Part: A Shot in the Dark?"

Click on the image to watch her video blog with senior producer Tim Uehlinger.

Airs Tuesday, Jan. 16, 8 p.m. on NBC.

 

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I think Higgs, the nurse, DID kill Kathy.   I think that Higgs, probably also killed Kathy's previous husband (I can't wait to find out if that previous husband also had succinal choline in his body).
I think Higgs, the nurse, DID kill Kathy.   I think that Higgs, probably also killed Kathy's previous husband (I can't wait to find out if that previous husband also had succinal choline in his body).
I am a Registered Nurse who works in the emergency department and am very familiar with the drug Succinylcholine as it is used for rapid sequence intubation..to paralyze all spontaneous muscle use to facilitate the establishment of an advanced airway adjunctive.  My questions would be 1) when Kathy was initially found in her home unresponsive, and 911 was activated, did either the paramedics or the doctors in the receiving emergency department utilize this drug to establish an airway for her?  This is a very likely possibility, but I find it hard to believe no one has previously looked into this fact.  Also, Succ. has a very short duration of action lasting from 10 - 30 minutes depending on the route of administration  IV or IM.  Are they suspecting the husband administered this while she was hospitalized and in a coma?  If she were in a coma, I would think they would have had her on a ventilator which would protect her from the effects of succ.  Was any of this looked into?  It will be interesting to see if the ex-husband has any traces of this drug in his system as well.  But as they say, innocent until proven guilty and these are valid questions from a medical professional.
From watching your show my theory is Kathy didn't want to take care of her 3rd husband, or be ostersized in the public eye for not taking care of him etc. after the stroke.  She paid or probably enticed Higgs to take care of it for her.  He did then becoming her "angel" and she married him.  Then after the marriage went south, she wanted out.  He didn't want out, she was leaving anyway, he was afraid she may tell athorities of his crime regarding Mr. Augstine, and he felt he had no choice but to kill her the same way.  I think fear and manipulation was the leading cause to his so called suicide.  
Kathy went to cafeteria with Higgs, a casual conversation ensued about her impending divorce.  Higgs suggested a way to dispose of her (then) husband and Kathy agreed to it.  Higgs then killed the previous husband.  After that, Higgs blackmailed Kathy and that's why they got married so quickly.  Then Kathy had some bad thoughts and threatened to expose the whole thing.  Higgs had to kill her the same way in order not to be tried for murder of the previous husband.  
Kathy meet Higgs in the hospital and after meeting him they started there deadly love affair.  To get all the money and a younger hotter husband Kathy had Higgs kill her husband and then they made there plans to get married.  I think she wanted Higgs to go away after awhile and even gave him around 100K from the money she receievd from her husbands death but he decided he had to kill her so nobody would know about it except him.  Actually Kathy should be convicted with the first murder of her husband along with Higgs.  The money in kathy's duaghters trust needs to get back to the son whos dad was killed by kathy and Higgs.  Kathy and Higgs are both Murderers and God cannot and will not let that go unpunished. Glen
I think that it is very probable that Higgs killed his wife. As a former critical care nurse myself I am familiar with Anectine. It is used only in the ICU or other critical care areas. It is given to a patient when they are going to be intubated.The nurses who administer this drug are critical care nurses who are experienced with this drug. It is usually given intravenously. If given intramuscularly it is absorbed  more slowly. I think he gave it to her intramuscularly, hence the injection site in her hip that was unaccounted for. I think that he gave it to her husband intravenously since he would have had an IV access. When given IV push the drug goes to work very quickly.
Critical care nurses are highly trained and have the huge responsibility of caring for our most fragile patients. Many lives have been saved by their ability to recognise when a patient is in trouble and then quickly act to treat the patient appropriately. I hope that Mr. Higgs hasn't used his specialized knowledge to take a life, instead of saving one.
I was wondering how would cardiac arrest happen with this drug? Mentioned earlier is the slow absorption when given IM, I was curious how long is longer than IV? Would there have been a small struggle or is longer only a few seconds compared to instantaneously?
Having worked in several critical care areas as well as the OR, I am very familiar with this medication and its mechanism of action. As mentioned before, this paralytic drug is used as rapid induction for intubating  patients whether in the OR or ICU.  This medication is extremely fast acting and resucitation equipment must be readily available to manage the patient's airway otherwise anoxia will ensue leading to cardiac arrest.
This nurse definitely did his homework in researching the drug and knew what he was doing,if in fact he committed these crimes.  Specialized testing will certainly confirm traces of this medication.  I hope the public doesn't think that all nurses pattern this behavior.  Most of us joined the profession to serve the public not to harm mankind.
I think that Higgs and Kathy both conspired to have Charles Augustine killed. It's just ironic that she got all of the community property after he died.  And then marrying Higgs so quickly.  I think their relationship started alot earlier than depicted.
Why air the show without getting the test results from the 1st husband ??? To leave the viewers in the dark like that was not good journalism.
Kathy is the most self centered, selfish person.  You can tell becuase she wanted to be the state treasure along with having all of her husbands money.  Divorcing him was out of lust and greed.  She treated her husband Mr. Augustine like garbage when he needed her the most.  She killed him and have the affair with the 3 time looser Higgs.  The money needs to be frozen in Kathys daughters trust so the son can get it back.  Higgs money needs to be frozen too. glen
I think you nailed it!! (Susan Burgin from Howell,MI)
I also predict that the examiners should find the same drug in Charles Augustine.  I think Carma may have bit her in the end.  What happened to her previous husbands?????  I think that should have been disclosed- (Another place, another time??)
It is my belief that Chaz Higgs killed Charles Augustine in his social and status climbing strategy.  He knew that Kathy Augustine was, despite in the midst of a divorce, vulnerable.  I believe Chaz Higgs' had the ability to induce the transference phenomenon with Kathy Augustine (a scientific proven psychological tool used by psychologists to invoke change in an individual and when used appropriately has positive influence toward behavioral change;but, when used inappropriately and unethically by a medical professional it can have devastating effects).  Thus, being able to basically direct Kathy Augustine behavioral patterns -- which would explain her post-behavior after Charles' death.  In my opinion, shortly before Kathy Augustine's murder that she was suspecting that Chaz Higgs killed Charles and Chaz Higgs was becoming aware of it, felt very desperate which his solution was to murder Kathy. I also believe that Chaz Higgs was planning to implicate Kathy Augustine in Charles Augustine's murder had Chaz Higgs' vicious taking of Kathy's life not been successful.  Chaz Higgs' comment to his co-worker was merely a blunder of a master minded murder plot.  It is my opinion that Kathy Augustine was murdered viciously by a medical professional who she entrusted her life to.
 Further, Kathy Augustine was the type of politican who answered my correspondence to her in her own hand-writing, personally returned my phone call to her, worked with a personal drive for perfection that few achieve, stood up in the face of adversity and was a very, very strong-willed person who rectified her unethical acts with retribution.  I have continually stated Kathy Augustine is a person to be commended for her strengths in the political arena, not re-prosecuted and condemned.  Ms. Augustine didn't duck and run like our noble President, Richard Nixon.  She stood by the fire and took the heat and continued on. Those are political traits to be admired, not condemned!
  A human being was murdered by, what appears to be, a vicious, scum bag by the name of Chaz Higgs that managed to incorporate himself by way of his medical profession into the life of a very prominent politician and individual of the State of Nevada.  Kathy Augustine was murdered and anything other than that is irrelevant.  Kathy Augustine would have served the State of Nevada well as the Treasurer of this State.
Kathy was my friend, for over 35 years, she was murdered just that.. She did not have Charles killed or has any harm come to her other husbands, She was a women who knew what she wanted in her life, and as her friend Mrs. Smith siad she had no luck in any of her relationships, but I know for a fact that she wanted to be loved for who she was, not for the picture she portrayed.
So are we saying that it doesn't matter if Kathy had her first husband killed?  I think we need to remember that he was a human being too!  As for her being a great treasurer for the state of Nevada...well, seems to me that she was already prosecuted of crimes while in politics and maybe she should have paid for her own campaign.  Do you really want her in control of all of that money?
I think most of these people who are defending Kathy Augustine are all in denial. It is very hard for people to come to terms with the realization that she most likely killed her first husband and look what happened to he in the end. She treated so many of her workers badly and she did died a horribly death. I am sure she was trying to cry out for help and nobody heard her cries because she wasn’t able to show it. No one deserves to die like that but at the same time we must understand that people must pay for their actions and that is exactly what happened.
As for Higgs there is no doubt that he will have to pay for what he did to both Kathy and her husband. He needs to be in jail for the rest of his life. For the supporters of Kathy, you need to stop been in denial and realize that Kathy may have been  a cold blooded killer and she took the life of someone, and the same way she to her husband's life that's how her life was taken.

Now isn’t that Karma!
MSNBC's story about Kathy Augustine didn't mention the fact that Kathy had worked extremely hard to re-invent herself professionally. Prior to her career in Nevada government, Kathy forged her professional  credentials by tackling graduate school and juggling responsibilities as a single working mom. I was privileged to be one of her classmates during the time she completed her graduate academic training [with honors]CSULB. Kathy was a very articulate, organized and independent thinker who approached her work with innovation and integrity.  The energy and grit she demonstrated in her classes was incredible! In an era of diminished professional accountability, it was truly refreshing to find an individual like Kathy who was not afraid to step up to the plate, follow through and take responsibility for her work. The field of public administration has indeed lost a very talented and visionary individual who truly was all about service to the public!            
There us a song  that goes He stone cold momma he stone cole dead in the market, momma he stone cold dead inthe market momma and she killed nobody but her husbanmd!!!
I also think Susan Burgin nailed it. What kind of women or person would while still married  meet someone while the other one is on there death bed!I think when she was telling her son that his dad was going  make it she was covering the already devious plan that she had conspired i dont think chaz came to her with the idea i think she saw a weak man mentally and used her charm or whatever you want to call it on him you know how politicians are always telling you what you want to hear but then never coming through! This is really a sad for the families to have to go through and i dont think it is going to get any easier for them when the truth starts to come out.
I agree with Joe, they probably were dating before the encounter at the hospital. he was at the wake and she married him 3 weeks later. I think the son has doubts too.
It seems to me that Chaz Higgs now has the ability to implicate Kathy Augustine without Kathy having the ability to confront her accuser should Charles Augustine's lab tests come back from the FBI with traces of succinycoline.  I would suspect Dave Houston has thought of that defense for his client if the lab results are negative to his legal defense of Chaz Higgs.  I am outraged by the callousness concerning Kathy's death.  We are a country that presumes innocence until proven guilty --not vice versa. The State of Nevada is certainly giving Chaz Higgs that respect!  The fact that Higgs has been accused of Kathy's murder with clear, convincing and unequivocal evidence is indicative to me that, if Charles was murdered, the actor acted alone and there would would only be one suspect -- not a coconspiracy of murder involving Kathy.  I often tell people that before they make their personal judgments upon someone else take the time and do the research to know what you are passing judgment upon.  That is not happening with the majority of the comments in this blog.  The individuals that have written in support of Kathy Augustine have had personal interactions with her. Furthermore, the Republican Party of the State of Nevada wanted Kathy Augustine to get out of politics because of their own fears that the ethical violations would somehow attach to them -- which implies to me that the citizens of the State of Nevada aren't thought of as being able to make decisions for themselves. It much like we're doing here -- guilt by association!  That type of mindset seems to be extraordinarily egocentric views of the politicians -- which would lend to the fact that each and every politician, when confronted, has only one individual in mind -- themselves. So what's the big deal about Kathy Augustine?  There is no denial concerning Kathy Augustine.  Kathy Augustine had ethical violations filed against her in which she was fined and the fine was paid.  Kathy Augustine was a tough boss and got the job done.  Where's the denial?The ethics violations, her interactions with her staff, other politicians opposing her running for treasurer does NOT amount to a unqualified privilege for Kathy Augustine to be murdered.      
hi
very nice work
What were the results of Charlie Augustine's removal from the grave?  Appreciate the results.  Thanks
I'm the Minister Love.  The next Civil rights Leader.  Be the first to air what I have to say.
I'm the Minister Love.  The next Civil rights Leader.  Be the first to air what I have to say.
I'm the Minister Love.  The next Civil rights Leader.  Be the first to air what I have to say.
I am not sure if Chaz killed Kathy or not. What and why is my first question.  There is no motive and no reason for him to murder her.  No life insurance, no will stating he will inherit, nada.  There has to be another reason why and I hope Dateline finds it out then does a follow up story.  It will be highly interesting to know if Charles also had Anectine in his system.  Wouldn't that be something if he didn't.  Finally, prosecuters are to quick to assume the spouse did it.  As pointed out, Kathy had many enemies and maybe one of them did their homework or maybe, and possibly, that nurse who came forward had a grudge against Chaz and did the murderous deed herself.  Ok, that's nuts but so is grabbing Chaz without further investigation.
I think from watching last nights show why didn't Chaz put Kathy on the floor first to administer CPR  instead he had her on her bed  also I think if he hated her so much why did he marry her in the first place. I also think why didn't she know that he was the nurse to her late husband Charles before she married him.. If you want my opinion on this whole thing  Chaz is a major creep.....
I watched a shot in the dark and thought Higgs was guilty right away. I was very shook up when they said there was no link between higgs and Kathy's ex husbands death. It was obvious that Higgs wanted something she had and to get to it he would have to kill her husband then her. Hello people Higgs was in the medical field for many (16) years although there was no trace of succinal coline in charlies (ex) body I am sure there were many other options considering he was his nurse. I hope the investigation does not stop here. Higgs should be convicted of killing two people not one.
I was surprised to see that the prosecuting attorney let the jury be influenced by the defense atty's illustration using a 10 cc syringe with a tiny 25 gauge subcutaneous needle - trying to say that it would have been difficult for Chaz to inject Kathy since it would have 'taken so long and she would have been fighting'.  An intramuscular needle is much larger (18 gauge) - his illustration was rediculous.  I have had to give an IM injection of Succ's in the trauma room to a combative patient in order to be intubated - takes about two seconds to give and not too much longer 'til they stop moving.


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