To Do List: Buy Milk, Visit Grandpa, Drop Off Corpse — North Carolina Man Arrested for Driving Around Dead Friend on Errands

eric_henryEric Henry, Jr., 19, of Winnabow, North Carolina may have had the best intentions when his friend, John Ferguson, 23, died from a suspected overdose and put him in the car. However, he appears to have concluded that there was a lack of urgency in getting him to a hospital and instead drove around town with the body in the passenger seat as he handled various errands.

The decision may have allowed him to use the HOV lane (which might not specify “live” passengers, though “person” is often defined as a live individual), but it was a serious mistake in terms of the criminal code. Henry has been charged with obstruction of justice. That is a surprising charge since most states have separate criminal code provisions for transporting dead bodies without a license and mishandling of a corpse. Tort law is equally strict in cases involving the mishandling of corpses.

Police found both Henry and Ferguson during a stop at Henry’s grandfather’s house. He appears to have missed the thing about calling the police on his “to do” list for that day.

This may simply be the corrosive impact of Weekend at Bernies” on our society.

For the story, click here

13 Responses to “To Do List: Buy Milk, Visit Grandpa, Drop Off Corpse — North Carolina Man Arrested for Driving Around Dead Friend on Errands”


  1. 1 Slickone 1, September 16, 2009 at 2:47 pm

    Well what did you expect a North Carolina boy to do? Maybe it is just a genetic thing.

  2. 2 Roland 1, September 16, 2009 at 3:34 pm

    This guy has a mental issue and has a diregard/disrespect for human life. He would make an excellent Blackwater/Xe candidate or maybe even an aide to Dick Cheaney.

  3. 3 erykah 1, September 16, 2009 at 4:27 pm

    Craaaaaaaaaazy!

  4. 4 Slickone 1, September 16, 2009 at 4:50 pm

    Crazy, plumb crazy, that what its all about. Maybe the water is tainted from all of that tobacco growing.

  5. 5 Jack B. 1, September 16, 2009 at 5:01 pm

    Did that close the italics tag? If not, there’s on open italics tag that needs to be fixed…

  6. 6 Mike Appleton 1, September 16, 2009 at 6:08 pm

    Jack B., thanks for pointing that out. I thought that everyone was trying to emphasize the importance of their comments on this thread.

  7. 7 Slickone 1, September 16, 2009 at 6:18 pm

    Mike Appleton,

    My comments are more important that yours on this list. What are you a socialist.

  8. 9 Mercie 1, September 17, 2009 at 12:03 am

    i thought i was tripping!

  9. 10 Mojo 1, September 17, 2009 at 1:24 am

    I guess everyone has their own “skewed perspective” on this thread.

    Roland say:

    “This guy has a mental issue and has a diregard/disrespect for human life.”

    Since the guy was no longer alive that’s really a tough call.

  10. 11 Chris 1, September 17, 2009 at 6:04 pm

    A good friend of mine passed away last week from an overdose. It turns out his life could have been saved if the people he was with had called 911. Instead they were so scared that they would get in trouble that they put him on a mattress in their garage and left him there to die.

  11. 12 I_knew_him 1, September 24, 2009 at 12:34 am

    you’re all a bunch of schmucks. You didn’t know him. Perhaps it’s just easy to rant on and on while use’n the Internet, just think if this person who passed away was someone close to you?

  12. 13 Liz 1, December 27, 2009 at 6:05 pm

    Chris, a similar thing just happened with a friend of mine. Tell me, what happened to the vermin that left your friend to die ? I’ve been trying to look up the laws regarding ‘mishandling a corpse’. I’m not getting very far and I’m very frustrated.


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