Toxic drug combination killed two airmen in Spangdahlem dorm

Two airmen who were found dead in a dorm room at Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany in January had a toxic, fatal combination of drugs in their systems.

Office of Special Investigations spokeswoman Linda Card said in an email Monday that the final autopsy reports and death certificates of Airman 1st Class Xavier Leaphart and Airman 1st Class Aziess Whitehurst, who were both 20 years old, listed their causes of death as “multiple drug toxicity," and that their deaths were recorded as accidents.

Card said the investigation into their deaths is still ongoing, and is not close to its conclusion. She did not know which drugs were found in Leaphart and Whitehurst.

Stars and Stripes first reported the cause of their deaths on Friday.

Leaphart and Whitehurst were found unresponsive in a dormitory at about 6:30 p.m. Jan. 9, and were pronounced dead shortly afterwards. They were weapons load crew members with the 52nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, in the 2W1 aircraft armament systems career field, and both joined the Air Force at the end of 2018.

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