A 27-year-old Durango man who died in October succumbed to complications from drinking alcohol, according to an autopsy released this week.
Franklin Kuhlke had a blood-alcohol level of 0.159 – about twice the legal 0.08 driving limit in Colorado – which isn’t typically enough to cause death, but there are indications his blood-alcohol level was much higher earlier in the evening, said Dr. Michael Arnall, who performed the autopsy and interpreted the toxicology report. Kuhlke’s death was ruled accidental.
Kuhlke was found dead early Oct. 21 at his home on East Third Avenue. He moved to Durango in June and immediately amassed a large circle of friends, his roommate, Kyle Pickett, said at the time of his death.
Kuhlke was from Georgia and lived in Omaha, Nebraska, for several years before moving to Durango. He was active in the local acting community, including making his debut roll as Rocky in “Rocky Horror Picture Show” at the Henry Strater Theatre.
Arnall said Kuhlke’s blood-alcohol level was low to cause death; in fact, many people can function fairly well and perform tasks with the level of intoxication Kuhlke had at the time of death.
Arnall, who has been doing autopsies since 1982, said he couldn’t recall ever signing an autopsy with a lower blood-alcohol level than Kuhlke’s, in which the cause of death was ethanol toxicity.
But he said the level of ethanol, or alcohol, found in Kuhlke’s urine suggests he was significantly more intoxicated before his death. The intoxication suppressed his breathing which caused mild brain swelling that contributed to loss of vital functions, he said.
“I’m well-aware that, right now, that blood-alcohol is not what you would imagine to be a fatal blood-alcohol, but I can also show you evidence to indicate in the hour or hours prior to his death, it was much higher,” Arnall said.
Additionally, there was nothing else to indicate trauma or other drug use that could have killed him, he said.
shane@durangoherald.com
