Toxicology reports for two Ole Miss students who died on Sept. 21 are expected to be completed “in due course,” a Mississippi official told News Media. The families of Aidan Hamilton and Robert Strang will be informed of the findings before the results are released publicly.
Hamilton, 18, and Strang, 20, were found dead on Sept. 21. Court records say both men had similar packages of kratom or synthetic kratom in their possession. Officials said Hamilton “could have died due to a Pulmonary Edema,” a condition that can be consistent with a drug overdose. Strang was “cold to the touch” when first responders arrived at his home near the University of Mississippi campus.
Alex Gibert, press secretary for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, told News Media: “Commissioner met with the [medical examiner’s] Office yesterday and we expect the reports to be finalized ‘in due course.’ The families will be the first to know.”
The update came as the American Kratom Association held a news conference Wednesday, where it criticized what it called a “delay in publicly identifying the specific products purchased by two Ole Miss students before their deaths.”
The organization said the tablets involved were “not natural kratom leaf” and argued that students should have received specific warnings about the products under investigation.
Robert Strang and Aidan Hamilton in a split image provided by their families. (Strang family, Kathleen Hamilton/Facebook)
Court documents say the packages found near the two men were labeled “Smax, Pseudo-DHM” tablets. The product was described as a “Kratom like substance at gas stations or tobacco shops” that users purchase for its “narcotic like effect.”
In September, Hamilton made several purchases at Puffs Vape, Tobacco and Beer Store in Oxford. Employees Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, 51, and Islam Mohamed, 18, were later arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. Court documents do not state that the kratom found near Hamilton after his death came from the store. One of his purchases was made the day before he was found dead.
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Packages of synthetic kratom products, including Smax Pseudo-DHM and Smax Pseudo tablets, that authorities say were found at the scene where Robert Strang was discovered dead. (Court records)
About an hour after Hamilton was found dead, police were called to a home near campus and discovered Strang. A package of “Smax, Pseudo-DHM” tablets was on his nightstand, along with 20 to 30 nitrous oxide canisters, commonly called “whippets.” His roommates said he used them daily. They also told officers Strang had been watching football and took a Xanax bar the day before his death.
Officials said Strang purchased the synthetic kratom-derived product at a gas station roughly 30 minutes from Oxford.
Stewart Hall, a dorm building on the University of Mississippi campus where an 18-year-old student is believed to have died on Monday. Dispatch records show first responders arrived within a minute of being sent to the address. (Adam Sabes/News Media)
The exact role, if any, that kratom played in the deaths of Hamilton and Strang has not been established. Toxicology results remain pending.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This report has been updated to clarify that an official said the toxicology reports had not been completed as of Wednesday morning.