Jewell never quite recovered from the media firestorm sparked by an article headed FBI Suspects Heros Guard May Have Planted Bomb, even after being absolved of the crime. No identified traumatic injuries, According to Doug Monroe.com, The stress of the libel lawsuit took a terrible toll on Scruggs over the years. However, Gugino points out that Scruggs isnt always the bad guy in retrospect. She has flaws, is extremely complex, and holds a great deal of fascination. That. Kathy never quietly entered a room, she exploded into it.. In addition to suffering from depression, she had a chronic back problem. Scruggs stood by her reporting and sources, proclaiming that she hadnt falsified anything. Therefore, Kathy never had any social media accounts, View more / View less Facts of Kathy Scruggs. She spent all the money she had and more and would go into the depths of depression. ", https://web.archive.org/web/20210118151905/https://thecinemaholic.com/who-was-kathy-scruggs-how-did-she-die/, "The sad story of a hero destroyed by others ambitions", https://web.archive.org/web/20201027035222/http://www.leecountycourier.net/about_people/the-sad-story-of-a-hero-destroyed-by-others-ambitions/article_a5ca4648-653c-11ea-a49a-cb7c4702803a.html, "Richard Jewell: Kathy Scruggs Roommate, Family Angered by Journalists Portrayal", https://web.archive.org/web/20210302153029/https://variety.com/2019/film/news/richard-jewell-kathy-scruggs-roommate-journalist-portrayal-1203435902/, "Richard Jewell Controversy: Olivia Wilde Calls Out Double Standard Of Sexism", https://web.archive.org/web/20210125221716/https://deadline.com/2019/12/olivia-wilde-responds-to-richard-jewell-kathy-scruggs-controversy-1202799205/, "Richard Jewell film under fire for depiction of journalist Kathy Scruggs", https://web.archive.org/web/20211008065940/https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/10/entertainment/kathy-scruggs-richard-jewell-film-trnd/index.html, "Richard Jewell's lawyer agrees the movie smeared Atlanta newspaper reporter", https://web.archive.org/web/20210303233650/https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/olivia-wilde-says-she-doesn-t-believe-richard-jewell-journalist-n1101126, "The True Story Behind the Movie Richard Jewell", https://web.archive.org/web/20210125053410/https://time.com/5748926/richard-jewell-movie-true-story/, http://en.wikialpha.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Kathy_Scruggs&oldid=228047, broke the story that the FBI suspected Richard Jewell was a bomber, not a hero. Kathy Scruggs, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter well known for coverage of law enforcement, was found dead in her Cherokee County home Sunday night. Meet His Fiance, Shakara Pritchett, Meet Alexus Atchley, TB Buccaneers Vita Veas Newlywed Wife. But several friends and colleagues have said over the years that she never really recovered from what happened with Jewell. She called the shots as they were, be it good or bad. He was a security guard working a shift at the public park during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Moderate postmortem decomposition The transaction felt peak 2019 yet timeless. The word filter was not in her body. At the time, the coroner said it could not be determined if the overdose was suicidal or accidental. She worked as a professional reporter for the Atlanta-Georgia Constitution newspaper in Atlanta, Georgia. He founded Athens Insurers Inc. with the late Bob Argo, who would become an influential Georgia legislator. Mirtazapine Present (not quantified) Jewell sued for libel, settling with some news organizations, but not Kathys, which fought the claims to the end. Share on facebook. Kitty flirts with the young detective assigned to a sensational homicide, shows up to a crime scene with whats left of a six-pack and finds a clue by drunkenly stumbling onto it. However, according to the report, she died of a drug overdose and apparently it was a suicide. She spent a lot of time talking to cops, attorneys, prosecutors, King said. Kathy Scruggs (born 1958 in Atlanta, Georgia) was a journalist who worked in the United States. Kathy had a really successful career and she loved her life to the fullest. Earl's siblings, older brothers Junie and Horace and older sisters Eula Mae and Ruby, all played banjo and guitar. Kathy Scruggs, a journalist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was the first to publish that the FBI was treating Jewell as a suspect and not a hero. She had a vulnerability about her, said author Robert Coram, who once fashioned a fictional character after her. Category. However, Scruggs didnt live to see her name being cleared. How did she die? An autopsy was performed in September 3, 2001. If you recall this bit of history, Richard Jewell is the security guard who saved lives during the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing. Argos daughter Marty Kemp is now Georgias first lady. In 2019 two movies about Jewell were released, with Scruggs portrayed by Carla Gugino and Olivia Wilde. Her soul was gone. The essence of her, they could never portray in a movie.. Their father,Lewis Bubber Scruggs Sr., was a World War II veteran who co-founded the Athens Insurers Inc. AJC Editor: Film tries to fix one reputation, attacks another, Richard Jewells ordeal detailed in new book on Olympic bombing, OPINION: AJC wronged Richard Jewell? Scruggs refused, and appealed the jail term. Scruggs was born Sept. 26, 1958 into a prominent Athens family. Griffin talked to Scruggs on the phone shortly before she died. Born Kathleen Bentley Scruggs on September 26, 1958, she and her older brother by 10 years, Lewis Scruggs Jr., were the products of a prominent family in Athens, Georgia. He passed away in 2009, eight years after Kathy died in 2001 of an overdose of drugs. Based on the lone bomber profile, the FBI searched his home and possessions and placed him under surveillance, according to Scruggs and Martzs investigation. How Kathy Scruggs, the Reporter in Manhunt: Deadly Games on Netflix, Died, Please review our privacy policy here: https://heavy.com/privacy-policy/, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Thats awesome!. I described the story Id just finished in broad strokes and parked the Johnnie Walker Red next to the bearded guys PBR. The court should not have ruled in her newspapers favor. It was just hard living, her brother said to the publication. Richard Jewell, a security guard, also discovered the explosives. The AJC was among the media outlets sued after Jewell was exonerated, and the only one that didnt settle. She was born to her father Lewis Bubber Scruggs Sr. and her mother Nancy Bentley Scruggs. Please review our privacy policy here: https://heavy.com/privacy-policy/, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. "Kathy was just luminous," Parke said. The book describes Scruggs as the kind of woman who packed perfume and a pistol in her purse, wore leather miniskirts and fishnet tights to the office, and kept her blouse unbuttoned beyond what. Warner Bros and Olivia Wilde have defended the movie. That article headlined FBI Suspects Hero Guard May Have Planted Bomb set off a media firestorm around Jewell from which he never really recovered, even after being cleared of the crime. In an interview with Collider, Gugino acknowledged that Scruggs was known for partying hard, but she was also known as a great reporter and what intrigued Gugino about the role was the notion that everything can look a certain way, depending on the point of view youre looking at it from, and that we all have a sense of what our truth is and it might be very different than somebody elses., Scruggs was pressured to do it immediately, else somebody else was going to run the story, which is the nature of the profession, according to Gugino, who added that the scoop on Jewell essentially fell in her lap.. The exhaustively researched book, which also was used as source material for the film, describes Scruggs' professional dedication as well as her troubles. For years, the hard-charging Scruggs commanded the police beat like a bullfighter. The cause of death was reported as acute morphine toxicity, but coroners couldnt determine if the overdose was accidental or intentional. He is resigned at how Kathy is portrayed in the movie. Shame on Olivia Wilde and Clint Eastwood, way to lie about someone that isnt alive to defend herself. It crushed her like a Junebug on the sidewalk., But even facing litigation over the article, Kathy Scruggs would not reveal her source in reporting that Jewell was a suspect. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Kathy Scruggsmother, Nancy Bentley Scruggs, was a charitable and social force in Athens before her death in 2015. But Kathy Scruggs initial story paved the way for a slew of other defamatory, accusatory, and wholly incorrect news reports about Jewell, who was ultimately exonerated after being a suspect for 3 months. As U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia at the time, Alexander was closely involved with the investigation. In 1953. The American star was at the top of his career when the news of his demise was announced. "She was so, so alive." Scruggs was born Sept. 26, 1958 into a prominent Athens family. She was hospitalized and was briefly unable to move her legs. (You can also read more about Scruggs life and background here. If you want to know more about the reporter who made such an impact with her coverage of what she believed to be the story of the decade, weve got all the details about Kathy Scruggs right here. In 1953. However, theres no evidence of Scruggs ever making illicit offers to get a story. Shes played by Carla Gugino in Manhunt: Deadly Games, and shes played by Olivia Wilde in the Eastwood film. You rarely had to tell Kathy to go back and ask more questions, said AJC retiree Mike King, one of Scruggs editors. Meet Baltimore Ravens Kyle Hamiltons Girlfriend, Reese Damm, Meet Duke Blue Devils Kyle Filipowskis Girlfriend, Caitlin Hutchison. No identified traumatic injuries. After his acquittal, Jewell filed libel suits against all the media outlets involved, including the AJC. One cameraman covering the incident died of a heart attack later. The key figures in the movie and real-life saga the former security guard Jewell and journalist Scruggs are not around to give their thoughts on it. Ethyl Alcohol 0.037 grams per 100 ML What was Scruggs cause of death? She died knowing that what she wrote was accurate, and I think that was really important to her. Whenever something would happen, the police would call Kathy. She was never at peace or at rest with this story. . Lewis Scruggs added, Her choice of boyfriends was not great. Martz was Scruggs reporting partner on much of the bombing coverage. That girl was absolutely fearless. Powered by. Scruggs was shown as having slept with sources for scoops in the 2019 Clint Eastwood film on the bombing, which others who knew her took great offense to. Wow, what you dont know. Kathys father also studied journalism at the University of Georgia. Many people knew her as the reporter who covered much important news and a great relationship with the local authorities back in the 1990s. Jewells personal and professional life suffered as a result of the media trial that ensued. She was a little bit rebellious.. Richard Jewell was indeed the lead suspect.. She had intestinal surgeryShe was trying to get better. An appellate court later sided with the newspaper, finding that Scruggs stories correctly reported what was known at the time that, at that time, Jewell was under FBI investigation in the attack. The movie captures the messy AJC newsroom well enough and managed a spot-on recreation of Centennial Olympic Park circa 1996. However, people who were directly aware of the situation, including many of her AJC colleagues, her friends, her brother, and even Ron Martz who covered the story with her, werent approached by the filmmakers to get a better picture of Kathy Scruggs. My mother would go over there. She never told him who her source was, and didnt discuss the lawsuit in detail. Scruggs recalled a visit to his uncle's home at age six to hear a blind banjo player named Mack Woolbright, who played a finger-picking style and had recorded for Columbia Records. In an interview with the Journal-Constitution, longtime friend Lisa Griffin revealed that she had a phone conversation with Scruggs just before her death. Kathy Scruggs was an American journalist, based in Atlanta, Georgia, best known for her role in the case of hero Richard Jewell. Do what you can. Scruggs appeared to have died peacefully in her sleep, wrote Doug Monroe in a 2003 article in Atlanta Magazine. There was a lot of effort put into making sure her story was given as much time as possible, but I think we struggled throughout., She becomes a suspect if you dont spend enough time with her tale. Director/executive producer Michael Dinner remarked, And I think that we spent more time with her [than the movie did]. I think weve got her covered. When it turned out that Jewell (played on screen by Paul Walter Hauser) was innocent, her reporting and that of the national media were criticized as a rush to judgment. Along with this, Kathy was under the stress of the libel lawsuit for several years. Their father , Lewis "Bubber" Scruggs Sr., was a World War II veteran who co-founded the Athens Insurers Inc. Overdosing on narcotics was the cause of her death in 2011. Toxicological testing of chest fluid Jewell had been a hero, all along. In the 2019 Clint Eastwood film about the bombing, Kathy Scruggs was portrayed as having slept with sources for scoops, something the people who knew her took great umbrage with. Heart failure due to complications from diabetes took him in 2007. She was never at peace or at rest with this story. Her scoop about investigators focusing on Jewell came from working her beat, as the book details, not liaisons with sources. While the biopic hails Jewell as the hero he is, Scruggs is shown in a poor light, which some journalists are not happy about. The last time I saw her was one of the times she came back to visit when she was on leave, said AJC retiree Joey Ledford, one of her former editors. Theres nothing I would have changed about Richard Jewell being a suspect, he said. Shed zoom to crime scenes in her Mazda Miata, sometimes arriving before authorities got there, and wouldnt leave until her notebook was full. Read more about Scruggs life and background here holds a great deal of fascination than movie! In the 1990s yet timeless to move her legs reporting and sources, proclaiming that she hadnt falsified.! 2019 yet timeless, so alive. & quot ; Scruggs was born to her father Lewis Scruggs. An influential Georgia legislator but several friends and colleagues have said over the years that she told! Lives during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta Magazine including the AJC was among the media that. 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