Annette Hayden Havre Daily News ahayden@havredailynews.com
The tragic, unattended death of a Havre man, whose body was found Friday, and is still under investigation by the Havre Police Department, has left a family with a deadly truth tearing at their hearts. An obituary regarding the death of Levi Douglas Lund, 26, published on Monday stated he had died Friday at his home in Havre from inhaling Co2. Levi death went under the investigation of the Havre Police Department on Friday as the third unattended death to be discovered in Havre within the week. Hill County coroner Greg Szudera told the Havre Daily on Tuesday, the apparent cause of death was from inhaling nitrous oxide from cartridges. Nitrous oxide is the same gas used to dispense whip cream from cans and and other seemingly harmless instruments. A quick Google search will hook any buyer up with 10 12-gram cartridges for a mere $3.99. One site’s slogan offers “pure medical nitrous, great price, direct importer, free 24 boxes.” Another online offer reads, “Introducing the highest quality medical grade nitrous oxide chargers” and if you buy 600 chargers you get free shipping. The same ad presents the cartridges for use in making whip cream “with quality nitrous oxide,” otherwise known as n2o. According to Levi’s mother, Connie Lund of Havre, her son’s death is cause to warn other families. “Levi was not inhaling Co2 when he died,” Connie said. “That statement in the obituary was wrong. He was inhaling nitrous oxide. We were misinformed and it is very important for the absolute truth to be known. We do not want to keep it a secret. Levi is actually the first death that Havre has ever experienced due to inhaling this substance and we want to help others that may be messing with it. “In fact they (law enforcement) told us they have never entered a residence with such evidence,” she added. “It means a lot to us to have the truth be known.” Memorial services for Levi will be held at 4 p.m. Thursday, at the Fifth Avenue Christian Church in Havre. He was born to Larry and Connie Lund on Oct. 31, 1980 in Havre. “He lived on the family farm and ranch north of Havre most of his life,” according to his obituary. “He had his own Black Angus cattle herd. He enjoyed the agriculture life and all it had to offer, but decided to move on after graduating from high school in 2000. Levi moved to Missoula and then Stevensville. Levi moved back to Havre in 2005 to be closer to family. He worked for Rasmussen Janitorial Service and then for Montana State University-Northern as a custodian. Levi was one of those people that just couldn’t find his niche in life. Levi had a type of arthritis called Ankylosing Spondylitis, which made it difficult for him to carry on every day activities. He enjoyed camping, fishing, hiking and riding motorcycles. He loved his family and friends very much.” The body was discovered by the landlord on Friday, but Connie said authorities told her he had died about 10 days prior. “This is another substance overdose issue in our community,” Szudera told the Havre Daily on Monday. According to Connie, her son had suffered from the arthritis most of his life, but had only been diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis about four years ago. “The apparent use of the nitrous oxide was to supside the pain from the arthritis and he got addicted,” she said. “We knew he was in pain every day of his life. It was no secret the discomfort he experienced, but we had no idea it was this bad. “The evidence found was conclusive, though, and from the research we have done on the Internet, it looks like Levi was inhaling the nitrous oxide to relieve his pain and then he became addicted. We want the truth to be told so that another family might be spared. That 600 cartridges you can buy on the Internet sells for $200 delivered right to your door, so now one ever sees. Friends and family have no idea, so they can’t even tattle.”
