On Apr. 18, an unidentified body was discovered near Lake Mead’s Boulder Islands, near Las Vegas, NV. An investigation was immediately launched into who this was and how they died, and now the tragic answers have been revealed.
Cops identified the identity by dental records, confirming that it was the missing 56-year-old Dr. Shawn Frehner, with his unoccupied truck containing his wallet, keys, and cellphone being found parked nearby. Suspicions were raised that foul play was to blame, with Frehner’s father insisting that his son had never expressed any suicidal thoughts and that he’d “never made any threats to hurt himself or anyone else.”
Frehner’s disappearance was particularly notable because he’d recently been at the center of an online controversy after a video went viral that appeared to show him abusing a horse. Frehner was a vet and had been called to treat horses at a property near Las Vegas. Something clearly went wrong here, as Frehner was shown wrapping his arms around a horse’s neck and kicking it in the head.
Property owner Shawna Gonzalez said: “I heard [my mother] yell, ‘Oh my God. He just kicked him. … Oh my God, Mom, he’s choking … He wrapped the horse around his neck three times, and he kicked him in the head.” She said the horse required further medical treatment, pressed for animal cruelty charges, and the Nye County Sheriff’s Office opened a criminal investigation against Frehner.
Frehner went on to defend his actions: “I did not blatantly haul off and kick this horse as it appears in the video. That was not my intention at all. It was done simply to get the horse in a better position so that he could breathe and get up and move so I could again try to anesthetize.”
Cause of death confirmed
Now the Clark County Coroner and Medical Examiner have confirmed that Frehner’s cause of death was drowning, with Pentobarbital found in his system and noted as a contributing factor. As such death has been officially ruled a suicide.
While we can’t know what was going through Frehner’s mind, it’s difficult not to draw a connection between him going viral on social media, fearing the loss of his reputation and career, and the actions he took.
Faced with this development Gonzalez remains adamant she did the right thing, saying in a text: “I had no idea this would happen. But I was not the one bullying. I am not sorry for standing up for my horse. I am their voice and will continue to be.” Whether, deep down, she actually believes that is up to interpretation.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.
