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The Montrose-La Crescenta Patch
By Nicole Charky, Patch Staff
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Coroner’s officials say that Drew Ferraro, 15, had a history of depression before he jumped off the roof of a three-story building at Crescenta Valley High School on Feb. 10.
Drew Ferraro was thought to have been suicidal before he jumped to his death in front of peers at , according to the County of Los Angeles Department of Coroner Investigator report.
His parents were apparently told he was suicidal; however, he did not go home from school on Feb. 9 and attended CVHS on Feb. 10 when he took his own life, according to an autopsy report and investigation.
Drew was found lying on the concrete with his backpack several feet east of his body. Inside his backpack were .
Traces of marijuana and Citalopram were detected in the toxicology report.
The level of marijuana represented “historical use” and could have occurred days, weeks or a month before Drew’s suicide, Dan Anderson, supervisor of the coroner’s toxicology lab, told The Glendale News-Press.
Citalopram, an anti-depressant, was found in Drew’s system in amounts “consistent with therapeutic use,” the News-Press reported.
On the day before his death, Drew had his phone taken away in class for texting by his third period English Teacher, Charlotte Greenway.
Greenway had spoken with Drew’s mother, Deanna Ferraro, about Drew’s poor attendance in the fall. Ferraro said her teenage son was diagnosed with depression, but Greenway was unaware of the extent of his problems or whether he had been taking medication.
On the day of his death, Drew had attended Greenway’s third period class and seemed to be fine, investigators reported.
“He was not mad because his cell phone had been taken away,” according to the report.
By fourth period, Greenway’s students had asked to go outside and read since it was a nice day, she said. The class gathered east of the quad area, and when the fourth period bell rang she was packing up her papers when she heard a loud thud.
She saw Drew lying on the ground and went to check him when she saw blood pooling beneath his body, the report states.
Greenway stated that she had never heard Drew make any suicidal statements, officials said.
“The decedent did not appear to be an outcast, but he was not one of the more popular students either. There was no known friction with other students and when she spoke privately with the decedent or disciplined him he was always polite and cordial,” according to the report.