The Columbus police have stepped up their investigation into the death of Joseph Upshaw after the Franklin County Coroner reported the cause of death to be an overdose of GHB.

County coroner, Dr. Bradley J. Lewis, reported Friday that preliminary toxicology tests revealed lethal levels of GHB and toxic levels of alcohol, ending a week of speculation on the cause of Upshaw’s death. The coroner believes ingestion of GHB, or gamma hydroxybutyrate a fast-acting depressant that can cause coma, seizures or death, to have been the primary cause.

Sgt. Earl Smith said police are concentrating on finding the individual who supplied Upshaw with the drug and if Upshaw ingested the GHB voluntarily or if he was slipped the drug without his knowledge.

The police will prosecute if they are able, but building a case is difficult when the witness is deceased, according to Smith.

“They have prosecuted in the past, but it is much tougher,” he said.

Upshaw, an Ohio State senior majoring in industrial and systems engineering, was rushed, following a 911 call, from the Delta Tau Delta fraternity house to OSU Medical Center, where he died at 5:57 a.m. on April 21.

The confirmation added weight to the statement by Upshaw’s mother, Valerie Woodley, made two days after his death.

“It is so unfortunate that not only Joey but so many young people today, everywhere, experiment with alcohol and other substance abuses,” Woodley said. “May his senseless death be a wake-up call to others so a tragedy like this may never happen again.”

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