No autopsy for suspected steroid user, By: Brendan J. Lyons

Mother declines exam, says son's death due to drug abuse

March 24, 2007

ALBANY -- The cause of death may never be determined for a 27-year-old East Berne man whose mother believes he died as a result of abusing steroids.

Barbara Kennedy said she decided not to allow an autopsy to be performed on her son, Peter, who died Friday in the intensive care unit at Albany Medical Center Hospital.

An autopsy might have aided health officials in determining whether steroids, which authorities said Kennedy had been using, played a role in his death.

Kennedy had been hospitalized in critical condition since March 2. He checked himself in at St. Peter's Hospital that day with severe cold symptoms and was subsequently transferred to Albany Medical Center Hospital, where he remained in a medically induced coma for more than three weeks until his death.

"I said, 'You know the steroids did it,' and they said 'no,' they're not going to be able to say yes or no," Kennedy said. "He was 100 percent healthy until the steroids tore down his system."

Law enforcement authorities said they believe Pete Kennedy began injecting testosterone and other steroids last year. They recovered bottles of steroids from his home after he was hospitalized and are still trying to determine where they were made.

"On this day, our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends who are struggling with the untimely death of Peter Kennedy," Albany County District Attorney David Soares said. "Mr. Kennedy's death could have been prevented. ... The use of illegal steroids is a major public health concern and I urge anyone who is in possession of these drugs, or knows of anyone using these particular drugs, to contact the New York State Department of Health or the district attorney's office to surrender them."

Barbara Kennedy started to suspect late last year her son was taking the drugs. He built an elaborate gym in their basement and worked out for up to four hours a day, pumping weights as he tracked his rapidly increasing strength and size on charts. In just a few months his body weight ballooned from about 168 pounds to more than 210 pounds, she said.

The mother said doctors told her that her son had an enlarged heart, a failing liver and kidneys that needed to be replaced. Initially, a physician at St. Peter's Hospital raised the issue of whether Kennedy may have used steroids.

Pete Kennedy worked for a Rotterdam glass company.

Investigators suspect the bottles of nandrolone and testosterone, which are both anabolic steroids, that were found in Pete Kennedy's belongings may have been produced locally.

There is no connection between Kennedy's case and a larger Albany-based investigation which involves a maze of pharmacies, doctors and wellness centers accused of conspiring to distribute steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs.