I loved Kathy, but she was crazy.. No foul play was ever suspected and the coroners reports suggested that Kathy Scruggs had passed away peacefully in her sleep. Stephanie Duprey Leaving WHEC-TV: Where Is the Rochester Reporter Going? Severe coronary artery atherosclerosis If shes being portrayed as some floozy, its just not true., To Deadline, the actress playing Scruggs, Olivia Wilde, defended the portrayal, saying, She was incredibly successful as a cop reporter. Tipsters told authorities Jewell seemed to crave attention and was obsessed with the show Cops., Investigators also drew on an incident with seeming parallels. Twitter/Getty She was never at peace or at rest with this story. She was also known as a reporter who loved to play and party hard, but it was a rumor people created after she created the hot headline . Her friends always believed stress over that story contributed to her failing health. No identified traumatic injuries, According to Doug Monroe.com, The stress of the libel lawsuit took a terrible toll on Scruggs over the years. What happened to journalist Kathy Scruggs, did she sleep with an FBI agent? The AJC was among the media outlets sued after Jewell was exonerated, and the only one that didnt settle. She was accurate., The newspapers publisher Roger Kintzel said in that story, nothing was ever found that indicated that what Kathy wrote was not the truth. When it comes to her social media handles, Kathy never used any of them. Scruggs and Martzs report claimed that the FBI was treating him as a possible suspect, searching his home and belongings and putting him under surveillance, based on the lone bomber profile. 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. Moderate postmortem decomposition She worked as a full-time reporter for the Atlanta-Georgia Constitution as a young professional reporter. Kathy was discovered dead in her Cherokee County home on September 2, 2001, at the age of 42. READ NEXT: Richard Jewells Cause of Death. 31 INSPIRING INTERNATIONAL MENS DAY 2022 QUOTES TO HONOUR THE GUYS IN YOUR LIFE. Serial bomber Eric Robert Rudolph would eventually confess and draw four life sentences, but she didnt live to see it. An appellate court ruled that her Richard Jewell stories were substantially true at the time they were published. However, that didnt make it easier on Scruggs, since she was so heavily associated with the media crush against Jewell. In the 1990s, Scruggs was known for her solid reporting, her tight relationship with local law enforcement, and also her hard-partying ways, something that was exacerbated after she set off the media firestorm directed at Jewell. Earl's siblings, older brothers Junie and Horace and older sisters Eula Mae and Ruby, all played banjo and guitar. Caption: A scene from the movie Richard Jewell (Source: vanityfair.com). Jewell himself passed away in 2007. Stress over the case contributed to her failing health, friends believe. Similarly, there is no valid information regarding her past relationships. Those who knew Kathy Scruggs, including her friends and family, remember her as a wild child with a rebellious and adventurous streak. In New York City, Kathy earned a bachelors degree. Due to the stress of the Jewell case, her health had declined over the years and she had been taking a lot of medication. I was stunned, AJCs current editor-in-chief, Kevin Riley told the Guardian. The man, Richard Jewell, went from being hailed a hero to the most hated villain when Kathy Scruggs, a journalist with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, broke the news about Jewell being looked at as the main suspect by the FBI. Commentators said that her role in Manhunt: Deadly Games was more nuanced.[10]. As adults, his little sister leaned on him as a confidante. Kathy Scruggs, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter well known for coverage of law enforcement, was found dead in her Cherokee County home Sunday night. Similarly, Kathy used to wear shoes of6 inches. Who Is Dallas Cowboys Brett Mahers Wife, Jenna McBride? After his acquittal, Jewell filed libel suits against all the media outlets involved, including the AJC. Once she lost that she was rudderless, she was lost at sea.. An injury early in her career left her with chronic back pain for which she took prescribed pain relievers. The first thing I thought about was calling Kathy, he said. All of the ethyl alcohol may have been produced by the postmortem decomposition process. Mild rigor mortis was present. Getty Kathy Hilton, Kyle Richards and Kim Richards have been feuding. Kathy was American by nationality. Recently, Wothappen.com put in details about the Death of Nick Gereffi, shocked his fan, especially when it was unexpected. Make sure you get y. He is resigned at how Kathy is portrayed in the movie. TIL reporter Kathy Scruggs who broke the story of Richard Jewell being investigated as the Atlanta Olympics bomber, died of a drug . When she died, she had been on medical leave from the AJC newspaper for approximately a year because of persistent health problems. She had an enormous personality, said Kiss, whod worked with her elsewhere and remained a close friend. In the event that they had, it might have wrecked their vision of what they wanted the story to be. All Obituaries - The J.F. Other than this, not much information is available regarding her education. But the CBS show Manhunt: Deadly Games is a more realistic and respectful portrayal of Kathys character. There were no such things as social media sites at her young age. However, it has never been made public what their relationship status is. When she died, she was facing possible jail time though eventually, the Journal-Constitution was cleared, with the Georgia Court of Appeals finding that the articles in their entirety were substantially true at the time they were published.. The other is out of focus and abstract. We also offer funeral pre-planning and carry a wide selection of caskets, vaults, urns and burial containers. Jewell had been a hero, all along. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says the Clint Eastwood-directed film salaciously and falsely portrays former reporter Kathy Scruggs trading sex for FBI tips. But she was also under stress from financial problems as her medical bills mounted. She is survived by her siblings, Lois "Sis" Scruggs Harper, Kay Poffahl (Jesse), Kathy Williams . She was drunk, naked and sitting in the drivers seat. The capture of the real bomber, which finally cleared Jewell of lingering suspicion, didn't take place until 2003. Friends who talked to her old newspaper in an attempt to resuscitate her reputation in the wake of the Eastwood movie said they didnt think she ever got over the media infamy. how to make mallow tea keith sweat tour 2021 kathy scruggs sisters. Many say she died from an overdose of drugs she had been legally prescribed. She died knowing that what she wrote was accurate, and I think that was really important to her. Heavy.com obtained the coroners report, which reveals that Scruggs died of a drug overdose, specifically acute morphine toxicity. Contrary to some other news reports, the coroner could not determine whether it was an accidental one or suicide. Critics say that film shows Scruggs being offered a tip-off that the FBI was investigating Jewell as the possible bomber from an FBI agent with whom she was having sexual relations. In an interview with the Journal-Constitution, longtime friend Lisa Griffin revealed that she had a phone conversation with Scruggs just before her death. She gave the most important information regarding the Olympics Blast case to the FBI officials which helped the FBI team to conclude the case. I didnt want to soften [Scruggs], in any way, because I wanted to give people potentially a possibility of empathy, seeing a little bit of the world through her eyes, said Gugino. "Kathy Scruggs (played by Olivia Wilde), who is based on a real-life, now-deceased Atlanta Journal-Constitution journalist; she, the film alleges, opened the floodgates to the merciless hounding of Jewell (who died in 2007) by (accurately) reporting that the FBI was considering Jewell a suspect in the bombing. She was hospitalized and was briefly unable to move her legs. Scruggs former colleague said that she was ordered to reveal her sources for the FBI story or face jail time. According to Coram, all the cops loved Kathy and nobody ever said anything negative about her, even in a drunken state. The coronary arteries exhibited moderate to severe atherosclerosis., Under findings and diagnoses, the following were listed: Newspaper hits out at 'Richard Jewell' movie over portrayal of reporter. "She was so, so alive." Scruggs was born Sept. 26, 1958 into a prominent Athens family. However, he was cleared of all suspicions and once again made a hero. CBSs miniseries Manhunt: Deadly Games is the action-packed follow-up to its predecessor Manhunt: Unabomber. She was the real deal when it came to being a dedicated reporter, said attorney and family friend Edward Tolley to AJC. Nothing would faze her at all. Ten years after Scruggs death, however, that dismissal was made. She was born to her father Lewis Bubber Scruggs Sr. and her mother Nancy Bentley Scruggs. An injury while on the job left her with chronic back pain for the rest of her life. In addition, as of the GBI medical examiner, the examination team was unable to identify whether the overdose was intentional or accidental. In 1953. The lawsuit was still ongoing at the time, and a Fulton County judge had ordered her and Martz to name their tipsters. It was this job and tenacity that landed her at the center of a storm when she was covering the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing. The movie makes it appear that Scruggs was willing to trade sex with an FBI agent for the story, but theres no evidence thats true. We present her as a fully well-rounded character, creator/executive producer Andrew Sodroski remarked at the Television Critics Association winter press tour in 2020. As a reader, we can see why she was attempting to succeed in her own world, and I think shes a well-rounded character.. But she was also under stress from financial problems as her medical bills mounted. She called the shots as they were, be it good or bad. However, that dismissal came 10 years after Kathy Scruggs died. : Everything About Christopher Judges Ex-wife. The court should not have ruled in her newspapers favor. Lewis and Kathy were 10 years apart so didnt grow up as playmates. Theres now no doubt that she was unmarried at her passing. She spent all the money she had and more and would go into the depths of depression. She was depicted more vividly as Kitty OHara in Atlanta Heat, a 1997 novel by Robert Coram. Her friend Susan Parke recalled how Scruggs could turn any day into an adventure. Clint Eastwood and the team made the movie entitled Richard Jewell. The Atlanta Journal-Constitutions journalists follow the facts, because you deserve to know whats really going on. Wilde, 35, attended the Gotham Awards . There were links formed between the FBI and Scruggs contacts. The word filter was not in her body. a recently published nonfiction book about the 1996 bombing. View Kathy Scruggs results including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. She was the ultimate reporter at working sources.. It was like a vacuum, she said. She is buried in Oconee Hill Cemetery in Athens, Georgia. The GBI medical examiner claimed her cause of death was acute morphine toxicity. Clint Eastwood directs the new Richard Jewell biopic, which has earned rave reviews for its depiction of the Olympic Park bombing. Do what you can. She spent all the money she had and more and would go into the depths of depression. Kathy Scruggs Wiki: Kathleen "Kathy" Scruggs was a reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution who broke the story that the FBI was investigating security guard Richard Jewell as a possible suspect in the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics bombing. Kathy was the inspiration behind another fictional character in another novel she appeared as Kathleen Bentley in Jack Warners Shikar. The same thing haunted her till her last breath. Moreover, the popular personality doesnt seem to be involved in brand endorsement activities. ), What is clear also, though, is that Scruggs was emotionally damaged from the controversies over her journalism (sadly, the controversies continue, with people who knew her slamming the movie for what they believe is a false portrayal of her.). She was preceded in death by her father, Alfr The bomb exploded within 13 minutes of evacuation, killing one person and injuring over a hundred people. Kathys mother, Nancy Bentley Scruggs, was a charitable and social force in Athens before her death in 2015. In addition, according to her friends, Kathy never really recovered from what happened with Jewell. Hollywood's version of Scruggs appears in "Richard Jewell," coming out Dec. 13. READ ALSO: Nick Gereffi cause of death, characters in You, wikipedia, how did he died, date of birth explored. If you recall this bit of history, Richard Jewell is the security guard who saved lives during the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing. It turned out, of course, that Jewell wasnt the bomber. She was so empty.. Once, he rode along when Scruggs was reporting on a homicide in a rough Atlanta housing project. 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 was so empty.. The scene in question shows Wildes Scruggs offering to sleep with the FBI agent played by Jon Hamm for information. She worked as a full-time reporter for the Atlanta-Georgia Constitution as a young professional reporter. Lewis Scruggs and several of his sister's close friends and former colleagues shared their thoughts in "The Ballad of Kathy Scruggs," a recent AJC piece about the journalist who died in 2001. The Cherokee County Coroners office provided Heavy.com with the official report of the Division of Forensic Science, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, into the autopsy and death of Kathleen Scruggs. Lewis Scruggs added, Her choice of boyfriends was not great. No sympathy. After a stint at two newspapers, she came to the Atlanta-Journal Constitution (AJC), where she worked the police beat. Scruggs appeared to have died peacefully in her sleep, wrote Doug Monroe in a 2003 article in Atlanta Magazine. [9] Monroe described her going to the scene of a murder, and arriving before the Police, only to ask them what had taken them so long, to arrive. The journalist suffered from multiple ailments and depression, worsened by the stress of defending her reporting during the Jewell debacle. Kathy was a wild child, said friend and former coworker Tony Kiss. How did she die? Although her family issues caused stress for Kathy, she was unable to function normally. According to friends and coworkers, she has never fully healed from the events of Jewells death. A reporter who worked with her spoke about her network of police officers, fearlessness at crime scenes, and tendency to arrive at the scene even before the cops. I would characterize her as a very good reporter who was very fair, Atlanta Police Chief Beverly Harvard told the newspaper. They included Crohns disease, anxiety, and depression. It was Scruggs who first publicly. "Kathy was just luminous," Parke said. What Can 50 Naira Do For You In Nigeria Today? 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. When a crime took place, she would come back with the chatter. Our Kathy Scruggs wiki tells the story of this headstrong reporter who pursued a story against all odds. (Photo by Paul Bruinooge/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images) Wilde plays Kathy Scruggs in Richard Jewell Biopic. The Real Housewives of Atlanta The Bachelor Sister Wives 90 Day Fiance Wife Swap The Amazing Race Australia Married at First Sight The Real Housewives of Dallas My 600-lb Life Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. If you recall this bit of history, Richard Jewell is the security guard who saved lives during the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing. "She was so, so alive." Scruggs was born Sept. 26, 1958 into a prominent Athens family. The logo said Scruggs Towing Service or Scruggs Heating and Air, something like that. Would love your thoughts, please comment. That would be an appalling and misogynistic dismissal of the difficult work she did., However, AJCs editor-in-chief is furious at the Scruggs portrayal. Richard Jewell was indeed the lead suspect.. What makes you think you could f*ck it out of me? At least thats how the Eastwood movie shows it happening, but theres no evidence that ever occurred, and Scruggs supporters say it didnt. When it turned out that Jewell was innocent, he sued the AJC and they fought, not choosing to settle. Meet Baltimore Ravens Kyle Hamiltons Girlfriend, Reese Damm, Meet Duke Blue Devils Kyle Filipowskis Girlfriend, Caitlin Hutchison. After some have criticized Olivia Wilde 's portrayal of Atlanta Journal-Constitution journalist Kathy Scruggs, in Richard Jewell, Wilde now defending herself. With that in mind I asked for a Johnnie Walker Red Label, Scruggs regular order, on my way out of Manuels. In fact, Kathy died before the development of major social media. Ultimately, as her brother said, Her heart gave away.. She put on a happy face for me because wed gone back such a long way. Unfortunately, Scruggs can't come forward to defend herself, either: She died in 2001 at the age of 42 from an overdose of prescription pain pills, according to Poytner. A colostomy site was present on the body. Manuels is still here, although its free, sumptuously large side parking lot is becoming the site of another mixed-used development. "The Suspect," a recently published nonfiction book about the 1996 bombing, is unsparing but not unfair. Kathy Scruggs was the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper reporter whose reporting on the Atlanta Olympics bombing has been extremely controversial. But several friends and colleagues have said over the years that she never really recovered from what happened with Jewell. She would say, I will go to jail before I reveal my source. She never did, lifelong friend Lisa Griffin said. I find it interesting that during Ms. Wildes extensive research of Kathy, she did not bother to contact me or any of Kathys very close friends, Lewis Scruggs Jr. said. She took all this stuff that interacted with each other.. In a 2013 profile of her Doug Monroe, who had been a colleague of hers, at The Atlanta Journal, described her a hard-drinking, hard-partying, risk-taking crime reporter that the Police loved. It crushed her like a junebug on the sidewalk., Another friend told AJC: Her soul was gone. 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. Argos daughter Marty Kemp is now Georgias first lady. "The portrayal of the explosion is one of the best scenes in any of the Clint Eastwood-directed films," said Atlanta Olympics enthusiast Nicholas Wolaver, who attended the Nov. 20 premiere in Hollywood and posted his review here. She broke away from the family tradition of attending UGA, like her parents and brother, instead enrolling at Queens University (then Queens College) in Charlotte, North Carolina. Scruggs has inspired characters in at least two works of fiction. She was the real deal when it came to being a dedicated reporter, said attorney and family friend Edward Tolley to AJC. In 1953. She was born in Atlanta, Georgia to Alfred Wallace and Doris Fillingim Waldrop. Kathy Scruggs Wiki: Kathleen Kathy Scruggswas a reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution who broke the story that the FBI was investigating security guard Richard Jewell as a possible suspect in the1996 Atlanta Summer Olympicsbombing. Its obvious to me they did not go to any great lengths to find out what the real characters were like.. Like others who knew her, he bristles at Hollywoods treatment. In addition to suffering from depression, she had a chronic back problem. After not found guilty, the FBI apologized to Richard. Coram, whos better known for his more recent biographies and a memoir, got to know Scruggs while researching police officers personalities over drinks and casual conversation. Side by side, she was also worried and under stress from financial problems as her medical bills mounted. pic.twitter.com/w7wMTupDz2, HJ (Hank) Ellison (@hjtherealj) December 12, 2019. It was just hard living, her brother said to the publication. Reporter Kathy Scruggs, and actress Carla Gugino, portraying Scruggs. Still, they say, its wrong to suggest she relied on illicit assignations to do her job. At first, Jewell was heralded as a hero for his role in thwarting the attack and saving many lives. Mild rigor mortis was present. She had a vulnerability about her, said author Robert Coram, who once fashioned a fictional character after her. Colleagues say questions over her role in the demonizing of Jewell troubled her in her final years. Jewell sued for libel, settling with some news organizations, but not Kathys, which fought the claims to the end. Even still, both Gugino and those who crafted the short-lived series seem intent on giving the character greater depth. They didnt go to tremendous efforts to find out what the genuine characters were like, I believe. The exhaustively researched book, which also was used as source material for the film, describes Scruggs' professional dedication as well as her troubles. 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. Mrs. Scruggs has passed in Cherokee County, Georgia. However, she accused her of giving sex in exchange for knowledge concerning the failure of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Salt Lake City, U.S.A.. He was a security guard working a shift at the public park during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. The film Richard Jewell has been made by Clint Eastwood and his team in the meantime. 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. Enterostomy Her heart gave away. She lived hard, she played hard.. If not for Richard Jewell, the bombing at the Centennial Olympic Park in July 1996 may have killed hundreds of people. Kathy Scruggs Came from a Prominent Family in Georgia 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. After he was cleared Jewell sued. Many of her law enforcement sources have retired, moved on or passed away. We bring to you daily trends in Ghana and all around the world. That is complete horse (expletive), said Tolley, who knew Scruggs personally and professionally. There are 50+ professionals named "Kathy Scruggs", who use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas, and opportunities. 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 Cherokee County, Georgia, Mrs. Scruggs has died. The husky-voiced Kathleen Bentley (Scruggs real first and middle names) stays ahead of other reporters, swears liberally and banters with the lawmen on the tigers trail. 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 coroners report shows that life caught up with Scruggs in the end, although it was never clear whether she purposely took her own life. AJC slammed the film in a piece published on November 26, 2019. Kathy Scruggs was single and not married at the time of her death. Kathy may be gone, but she is still a vibrant part of our family and we love her very much. Heavy.com has reached out to Dyleski for additional comment. Kathy Scruggs was an American journalist who was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. It also started her downward spiral. Jewell had been arrested for impersonating an officer while on duty as an apartment complex courtesy guard. Scruggs faced jail if she did not reveal her source. The hunt for the real killer nagged at Scruggs until the end. Law enforcement loved her, just loved her, said co-author Kent Alexander, a former federal prosecutor. Would love your thoughts, please comment. She has flaws, is extremely complex, and holds a great deal of fascination. In real life, Scruggs died without ever revealing her source. Kathy Scruggs wiki. She would be an easy person to caricature, he said. Kathy, Nancy, and Lewis Sr. are survived by Lewis Jr., who continues his fathers legacy in the insurance business, and his wife and kids. 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. . [2][3][4][5][6][7] While commentators agree Scruggs was a beautiful woman, with a strong personality, her defenders assert media portrayals of her have obscured her genuine professionalism and dedication, with an undue focus on her lovelife. Litigation naming the AJC was dismissed in 2011, when the Georgia Court of Appeals concluded the articles in their entirety were substantially true at the time they were published, but Scruggs didnt live to see her name cleared. My mother reacted as if it was her fault. 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.. It crushed her like a junebug on the sidewalk., Another friend told AJC: Her soul was gone. They always trusted her to get the scoop because they knew it would be handled right. The cause of death was reported as acute morphine toxicity, but coroners couldnt determine if the overdose was accidental or intentional. Played by Olivia Wilde, Scruggs is shown as a reporter willing to go to any lengths to get a story, including offering sexual favors for information. Wow, what you dont know. Powered by. Ernest Hemingways words grace a wall in the Athens Academy writing center named in memory of Kathy Scruggs. Someone in Scruggs Rolodex led to the biggest story of her career, but those close to her say it was also her undoing. It was just hard living," her brother told the AJC. Kathy Scruggs was an American journalist who was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. It might be a rose, or a quarter, Lewis Scruggs said. Atlanta Councilman proposes refund program for overpaid water bills, Clayton County sets qualifying fee for election to replace Victor Hill, State hellbent on ending hotel placements for foster children, Greenlight Financial slashes one-fifth of its workers, Atlanta City Council could vote on new mayors office of policy Tuesday.