Fish Tank Cleaner Death Now Under 'Active Investigation' by Police, But Media Will Never Apologize to POTUS
The fishy story about a man who died after drinking fish tank cleaner in March just got fishier, after it was reported his death is now being investigated by a homicide detective.
In late March, the far-left establishment media happily seized on the death of Gary Lenius, 68, of Arizona after he and his wife, Wanda, drank soda laced with chloroquine phosphate, a common aquarium solvent. Wanda Lenius told reporters, they were attempting to use the substance as a prophylactic to prevent contracting the coronavirus.
Gary Lenius’ death was tragic, but convenient for Democrats and the media, because at that time President Donald Trump had just begun facing criticism for suggesting the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine could be a successful treatment for COVID-19 patients.
Wanda Lenius, 61, said after her husband’s March 22 death that the couple only drank the fish tank cleaner because Trump suggested it.
Of course, the president didn’t suggest drinking fish tank cleaner. Trump, citing medical evidence from around the world, explained that hydroxychloroquine might be an effective treatment for the coronavirus when prescribed by a physician for patients who met certain criteria.
But Democrats and the establishment media used Wanda Lenius’ statement to turn the saga into a national story and helped to further politicize the use of the drug in a quest to damage the president politically.
“We saw Trump on TV — every channel — and all of his buddies and that this was safe,” Wanda Lenius told NBC News. “Trump kept saying it was basically pretty much a cure.”
“My advice,” she added, “don’t believe anything that the president says and his people because they don’t know what they’re talking about.”
Woman in ICU: “Trump kept saying it was basically pretty much a cure.”
NBC: “What would be your message to the American public?”
Woman: “Oh my God. Don’t take anything. Don’t believe anything. Don’t believe anything that the President says & his people…call your doctor.” https://t.co/C8EiTQQ3r1 pic.twitter.com/UAOXBNsS4t— Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) March 24, 2020
Now, it turns out Gary Lenius’ death is now being investigated by a homicide detective, according to The Washington Free Beacon. And even if police say the inquiry is “normal protocol” at the for non-natural deaths, it shows how much the picture has changed about the case from when news about it first broke.
The Free Beacon has reported that Wanda Lenius often financially contributed to Democrats and that the couple’s marriage was sometimes troubled.
According to the Free Beacon, Mesa City Police Department homicide division confirmed that the investigation into Gary’s death is ongoing after a homicide detective contacted the news outlet to request recordings of its interviews with Wanda Lenius.
“As this is an active investigation, I cannot go into any details at this time regarding the case,” the detective, Teresa Van Galder, told the Free Beacon.
A man described as a close friend of Gary told the Free Beacon he had reservations about Wanda Lenius’ account of the events leading to her husband’s death.
“What bothers me about this is that Gary was a very intelligent man, a retired [mechanical] engineer who designed systems for John Deere in Waterloo, Iowa, and I really can’t see the scenario where Gary would say, ‘Yes, please, I would love to drink some of that Koi fish tank cleaner,'” the friend said, according to the Free Beacon. “It just doesn’t make any sense.”
While Gary Lenius’ death might have been shocking to those who were close to him, the story sounded at least suspicious to critical thinkers and those not inside the far-left and establishment media echo chamber when it was first reported.
Yet some left-leaning media outlets claimed or implied that Trump was responsible for Gary’s death — including CNN.
Liberal outlet The Intercept reported, “After Trump hyped chloroquine as a Covid-19 cure, a man died trying to self-medicate with a version of the chemical used in fish tanks.”
The Daily Beast also issued a report linking the death to Trump.
“An Arizona man has died and his wife is in critical condition after ingesting an anti-malaria drug in an attempt to treat the novel coronavirus,” The Daily Beast reported. “The couple, both in their 60s, self-medicated with chloroquine phosphate, which is related to one of the drugs that President Trump said is being tested in clinical trials.”
But the story spread far beyond a few partisan websites, caught fire on social media and was widely covered by network and cable news outlets.
While Gary Lenius’ death is now being investigated by a homicide detective, it is important to note that no crime has been alleged.
In a statement, Detective Jason Flam told KNXV in Mesa, that it is “normal protocol at the Mesa Police Department for all death cases (other than obvious natural causes) to be investigated. All death cases are assigned to a homicide detective for their review as a matter of protocol. Please do not confuse this fact with what is currently being reported that this case is now a homicide investigation.”
Still, the fact that an investigation is in progress — and that a news outlet is being contacted for recordings of its interviews with a principal player in the case — shows the story is far from the “Trump is bad” fable the mainstream was originally peddling.
The new developments are definitely a bad look for reporters who used the story and a man’s death as ammunition in their partisan sniping of the president.
Will they apologize to Trump? Don’t count on it.
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