ASSOCIATED PRESS
Friends and classmates of Randolph High School cheerleader Lauren Crossan were invited to place a candle on the altar in her memory during a prayer service Tuesday at Resurrection Parish Church in Randolph, N.J. Police believe Crossan, who was chosen to perform during the Hula Bowl halftime show, died Monday after falling from a ninth-floor hotel room balcony.
Cheerleader’s death
labeled accidentAn initial autopsy shows alcohol
but no drugs in her system
WAILUKU >> One of the two men released from custody in the death of an 18-year-old cheerleader told police he had consensual sex with her in his hotel room then fell asleep and did not know her whereabouts when he awoke.
Erik B. Larson, 20, of Folsom, Calif., said cheerleader Lauren Crossan also was drinking alcohol, acting Maui police Lt. Tivoli Faaumu said yesterday.
Crossan's naked body was found Monday morning on the grounds of the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa.
She and two other Randolph High School seniors from New Jersey were selected by the National Cheerleaders Association to be among several hundred cheerleaders performing during halftime at the Hula Bowl on Saturday, and the three had raised money for the trip, according to the Star-Ledger newspaper in Newark, N.J.
Police believe Crossan fell from the balcony of a ninth-floor room occupied by Larson and his friend 19-year-old Donald L. Devorss, also from Folsom.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A woman walked past the Lahaina Tower of the Hyatt Regency Maui yesterday in a driving rainstorm. Lauren Crossan's body was found on the grounds beneath the tower on Monday.
Police have classified the death as a fatal accident and released Larson and Devorss from custody Tuesday night after they were held for questioning most of the day.
Faaumu said the two men had checked into the hotel on Saturday and were on vacation.
Crossan arrived at the hotel on Sunday evening, along with two other cheerleaders from Randolph High School.
The mother of one of the Randolph High girls served as a chaperon.
Faaumu said that according to the men, they met Crossan for the first time at a hot water-jet pool at the hotel, and all of them visited other guests in hotel rooms before going to their room on the ninth floor.
"There was some alcohol involved," Faaumu said. "All parties were drinking."
An initial autopsy detected alcohol, according to Dr. Anthony Manoukian, Maui County medical examiner.
The report also said there was no indication of sexual assault, according to the Associated Press.
"Our preliminary screening showed a presence of alcohol but no presence of drugs, and confirmation is pending," Manoukian said.
The minimum legal drinking age in Hawaii is 21.
Faaumu said the chaperon received a call from Crossan about 1:34 a.m. Monday saying she was OK and would be returning to her room in the hotel.
Her friends conducted a search when she did not return but were unable to find her.
A guest looking down from the Lahaina Tower found the body, and police were called at 7:46 a.m. Monday.
Faaumu said Crossan's clothes were found in the men's hotel room.
Tivoli said the preliminary autopsy results indicated Crossan died of injuries consistent with a fall.
Hula Bowl owner Dick Schaller said the association's cheerleaders have been performing during the halftime show for the past three years, perhaps longer, and have always done a "great job."
"It's a real tragedy," said Schaller.
