Coroner rules on teen’s New Year’s Day death
The Clark County coroner’s office has ruled on the cause of death of a 13-year-old girl who was found unresponsive early New Year’s Day in a Summerlin neighborhood.
Aumnie Halper, 13, died of acute ethanol intoxication. Her death was ruled an accident.
Metropolitan Police Department spokesman Larry Hadfield said Monday that abuse and neglect detectives were investigating.
The case remains open, and Hadfield said the coroner’s findings will be added to the file. Police are working to determine if there was any criminal element associated with Aumnie’s death.
No one had been accused of any wrongdoing as of Monday, he said.
On the morning of Jan. 1, police were called to a home at 59 Panorama Crest Ave. after fire officials requested help for an unresponsive person, according to dispatch logs and a Metro spokesman.
The home belongs to Eva Littman, a prominent Las Vegas fertility doctor, according to property and business records.
Littman could not immediately be reached for comment Monday.
Before going to Littman’s house, Aumnie spent about five hours at the home of Les Blake, owner of Moon Valley Nurseries. A spokesman for the Blake family has said no drinking occurred at the home on New Year’s Eve.
Aumnie was pronounced dead at Summerlin Hospital Medical Center, the coroner’s office said.
Shellie Halper spoke with her daughter about the dangers of alcohol on New Year’s Eve, less than 24 hours before the girl was found unresponsive at the Littman home, the mother’s lawyer said in January.
Matthew Hoffmann, the attorney, has said that Halper did not give her daughter permission to drink. Hoffmann could not immediately be reached through a spokesperson on Monday.
Hoffmann said in January that Halper, a single mother, still had many unanswered questions about how her daughter obtained alcohol.
None was missing from the Halper home, according to the attorney.
According to her obituary, Aumnie was a vegetarian and loved animals. She volunteered at her favorite animal shelter and also loved science, sewing, volleyball, basketball and playing her ukulele.
A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the autopsy findings prompted the police investigation.
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Contact Jonah Dylan at jdylan@reviewjournal.com. Follow @TheJonahDylan on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writer Blake Apgar contributed to this report.
