Cocaine, opiates linked to Houston drug deaths

HOUSTON, Texas (CNN) -- Fourteen of 18 people killed in a recent rash of drug overdoses around Houston tested positive for cocaine and opiates, the county's chief medical examiner said Wednesday.

VIDEO A deadly combination of cocaine and heroin is blamed for 18 recent overdose deaths. KHOU correspondent Jeremy Desel reports (August 15) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   RESOURCES Message board: War on drugs

The results seem to confirm initial police suspicions that a deadly combination of cocaine and heroin, an opiate, may be responsible for the string of deaths over the past few days. Authorities are still trying to determine what's behind the outbreak of overdoses.

The victims, most of whom lived in the northeast Houston area, ranged in age from 16 to 46. Harris County Chief Medical Examiner Joye Carter said no new names have been added to the 18 already under investigation.

"This whole thing just hit -- boom," said Les Shireman, program director with the Houston Council on Alcohol and Drugs.

This is the second regional outbreak of a concentrated number of drug-related deaths this month. Police Sgt. Cheryl Franks in Rochester, New York, said seven people died of drug overdoses around the city between August 2 and August 7.

One of those deaths was Gregory Coleman, a prosecution witness in the Connecticut murder case against Michael Skakel, a Kennedy cousin. Franks said the deaths involved the use of heroin or cocaine, or possibly both, and remained under investigation.

In Houston, Carter said the number of drug-related deaths over such a short period was unprecedented in the area.

"We had maybe half a dozen cases a couple of years ago, but not to this extent," Carter said. "I've seen it across other parts of the country, where you can almost pinpoint a source."

"Something has interjected itself into this situation to make [drug use] extraordinarily dangerous," said Capt. Richard Holland of the Houston Police.