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CLERMONT County, Ohio – Michael Forrest Behne insisted that he only drank a glass of wine while he was preparing dinner in August 2016, the night of dinner.
Just a drink.
That's why he was shocked that after a head-on collision later in the night – an accident that he caused – his blood-alcohol level was recorded at 0.325, four times the legal limit for driving in Ohio.
It was the same for his mother, Betsy Behne. His son was charged with aggravated assault, the person he hit was seriously injured in the leg and ankle. Forrest Behne finally accepted a plea of guilty and is currently serving a two-year sentence.
"It does not make sense to me," he said. "I do not believe that a single glass of wine can put me on the legal limit, let alone four times the legal limit."
Betsy Behne said she had seen her son at the family home a few minutes before he left to refuel and cause a misfortune to the victim.
"I talked to him all afternoon and over the phone on my way home," said Betsy Behne. "He had called after refueling to see if I needed him to pick up something at Kroger's on the way home."
Forrest Behne, who had recently graduated in microbiology while studying food science in Washington and Lee University, had no previous legal problems.
When Forrest was charged, Betsy Behne said he looked for answers. How could his son have such a high blood alcohol level?
All is not added.
The level of intoxication needed for a blood alcohol level of 0.325 would usually imply a noticeable loss of balance and speech disorders. In the worst case, it could even lead to loss of consciousness and death.
Court records indicate that Behne "has quickly deteriorated" and even fainted after the accident, but he attributes this to the impact of the accident itself – which caused the deployment of the airbag in his car – as well as the effects of a little-known health problem.
Medical reports from Bethesda North Emergency Department, reported to WCB Scripps Station in Cincinnati by Behne's family, indicate that doctors who examined him after the accident had smelled of alcohol in his breath but also noted that his speech and behavior were normal. They characterized it as oriented and alert.
When Betsy Behne found information about a rare disease called auto-brewing syndrome, also called intestinal fermentation syndrome, she thought she had found an explanation for the seemingly incongruous facts of her son's wreckage.
"It's a term for people who turn carbohydrates into alcohol in their bodies," said Dr. Barbara Cordell.
Cordell was a leading researcher in this case when the case of a Western New York teacher's self-brewing syndrome was revealed in 2015..
The accused, whose name was sealed in the court's minutes, was arrested by the police and subjected to a drinking rate of 0.33. Although she showed symptoms that she had been drinking, her attorney argued that she, like Forrest Behne, did not show signs of intoxication corresponding to four times the legal limit.
The lawyer claimed that his body was adapting to the constant presence of alcohol in his blood and that his case had been thrown in the trash after tests controlled by the hospital had shown that his alcohol level in his blood was high after consuming carbohydrates.
Anh Kanodia of Westerville, Ohio, and Jesse Saverimuttu of the Richmond University Medical Center in Staten Island, NY, conducted the same tests and diagnoses. Both were presented in
national
new
as experts of the rare and controversial disease.
"I am convinced, after the tests that he has spent in different clinics, that his body is producing alcohol," said Scott Croswell, Behne's lawyer. "I mean, he was quarantined in a hospital room for over 24 hours and his blood tests were taken regularly, and they fluctuated up and down from scratch.
"The hospital knew he had not consumed alcohol before the tests began and that, over a period of time, his blood level would go up, they would increase, decrease, increase, decrease, and frankly, the numbers were somewhat dramatic. "
Croswell stated that Behne's diagnosis had not been reviewed by the County Court of Clermont because he had admitted that he had drunk wine while cooking before the accident, which resulted in serious injury.
"Of course, this brings us back to a question of evidence that is dealt with in law by a court," said Croswell. "And especially when a person has consumed alcohol, it is virtually impossible to prove that ABS has also had an impact on his level of alcohol."
Croswell said the Ohio law was only about the amount of alcohol or drugs in the blood, not about how alcohol or drugs got there.
He added that prosecutors may exercise discretion in cases where a person may have been drugged without his or her knowledge or consent and choose not to pursue or consider mitigating factors at the time of sentencing. .
"It's a new phenomenon. This is a new question in the law, "said Croswell. "But we have done extensive research and I do not think I know a court has legally concluded that a person had suffered from this syndrome and was therefore not guilty of an offense."
The Clermont County Attorney's Office declined to be questioned for this report.
Forrest Behne said he understood that he could not prove that he had only one glass of wine to drink on the day of the accident.
"I know what I believe, but I understand how difficult it would be to prove scientifically," he said.
Betsy Behne admits that she bought her own breathalyzers and even hired a private investigator to accompany her son for a day in order to make sure that he was not consuming alcohol, his breath being intermittently controlled.
"What we are seeing with this disease is that it can work for several days at two, three or four times the legal limit and be completely unconscious," she said.
Behne said that it was his "normal".
"It's an extremely rare disease … and a very difficult condition to prove or disprove," said Dr. George Smulian, head of infectious diseases at the University of Cincinnati.
Smulian stated that he had treated patients in Cincinnati and that he thought that Behne may be suffering from the self-brewing syndrome, but he did not care for it and did not can not pose a definitive diagnosis.
According to Smulian, medically recognized cases usually involve patients with intestinal abnormalities and taking antibiotics, which allowed the yeast to develop without control.
"This, then, with exposure to high carbohydrate content, can act as a catalyst for these bacteria to break down and turn into alcohol," he said. "I think that among people who have really been proven to be in this perfect storm."
Forrest Behne said that he thought the symptoms had started in his last year in college after taking antibiotics. After graduating, he also worked in a laboratory at a local brewery, where he tested the yeast to ensure that it was appropriate for a given lot or brand, and that it was There were no microbes that could spoil or modify the product. lot.
He added that he thought the yeast that he had touched and breathed at work could have touched him, just like the carbohydrates that he had eaten the day of the accident.
"It's impossible to know," Smulian said of this possibility. "I think the only way to determine it would be to look at his G.I. flora and see if you could find the same yeast strains as those used in breweries. "
Croswell said dozens of letters from past professors and professors praising Behne as an outstanding student, who had never been aware of the law, could have helped him to obtain a plea contract to serve a sentence of two years imprisonment instead of five. aggression.
"I obviously can not speak for the judge, but I think he was sensitive to this ABS syndrome," Croswell said.
Judge Jerry McBride of Clermont County declined to be questioned for this report but agreed to share a redacted e-mail that he sent to the Ohio Rehabilitation and Correction Department asking Behne "to be housed in a hospital or medical facility … in order to receive the proper treatment and diet to control his illness".
From Justice McBride to Suzanne Brooks, ODRC
by
WCPO Web Team
on Scribd
Doctors had subjected Behne to a rigid diet, extremely low in carbohydrates, as well as antifungal medications for several months to treat his auto-brew syndrom syndrome before his incarceration, McBride added.
Despite McBride's recommendation, Behne was placed in the ordinary population at London Penitentiary, where he is restricted to food served to all inmates rather than to the doctor's recommended diet.
After repeatedly requesting an interview, the ODRC provided this written statement from Deputy Chief of Communications Sara French:
"Generally, all inmates who arrive under the ODRC are screened by medical and mental health providers at the front desk.The ODRC will provide treatment and / or monitor any diagnosis requiring follow-up care. If the inmate's inmate's facility is unable to provide the ODRC transfers the inmate to one of our medical centers or transports him to an external provider. All inmates also have the option of submitting an application to a medical doctor. their establishment if they encounter a problem and need to be seen. "
London Penitentiary approved a breathalyzer test in its interview with Behne, who had zero alcohol. He said that the treatment he had received in the months prior to his incarceration had helped to reverse the symptoms of the disease, but that he still did not believe to be completely cured.
Behne said that he had had some other "flare-ups" of the disease, during which his eyes had become "glazed" and he had become very tired.
"It sounds like such a travesty," said Betsy Behne. "We do not want anyone else to go through that … because it's an honest and legitimate condition."
Forrest Behne said that he had sent a letter of apology to the victim of his accident, but had not spoken to him. He said that he was struggling with feelings of guilt.
"I am deeply sorry for what happened," said Behne. "It does not make it much easier to know that this condition was the cause of the accident, it has always happened and I am sorry for that."
Behne served six months of the two-year mandatory sentence in her plea agreement. He stated that he had an interest in pursuing law studies upon his release from prison.
"I do not expect any change in my situation, but I think telling this story will help somebody," he said. "It's my goal."
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