Woman Confirmed As Georgia's First 'Gray Death' Fatality: GBI

ACWORTH, GA -- The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has confirmed the state's first fatality attributed to the potent drug cocktail known as "Gray Death," the agency told Patch Wednesday.

The development comes as Gray Death, a combination of highly addictive heroin and powerful fentanyl, is in the headlines after a 24-year-old woman died from it in a Brookhaven condominium in February.

First responders reportedly found Lauren Camp submerged in a bathtub. She could not be revived. SIGN UP: To get notified of more local news like this, click here to sign up for the Brookhaven Patch. Or find your Atlanta-area town here. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.

The GBI said that the DeKalb Medical Examiner’s Office also confirmed that Camp's autopsy results revealed the presence of heroin and furanyl fentanyl in her body. What makes the drug so deadly is that it can cause overdose even from skin absorption.

In a sign that the state may be seeing the emergence of an epidemic, the GBI Crime Lab said that they have received 50 "Gray Death" cases so far this year. In the early part of the year, the GBI Crime Lab began receiving requests from municipalities around the state to test a "gray powdery substance," spokeswoman Nelly Miles said in a news release.

The gray material may vary but typically contains heroin, fentanyl, furanyl fentanyl, and U-47700 mixed into a powder. The solid material looks like gray concrete mixing powder, with texture variations from light/powdery to chunky/rock-like, Miles said.

Nearly 20 people have died due to the "Gray Death" since 2016, state officials said.

"Gray Death" has been in the news before in metro Atlanta. In January, state authorities shut down a pill factory in Gwinnett County, where 10 kilos of pills and powder were falsely labeled as oxycodone.

"When I found out what I actually had, (I was) definitely a little scared because of the amount that was submitted. Anything could have happened, but luckily with the protective gear and the staff that I had, everything went OK," a GBI crime lab chemist told WSB-TV.

Miles said that more cases are sure to emerge as the GBI Crime Lab continues to process more drug seizures.

Image courtesy of GBI