Owasso, Oklahoma - A couple of Owasso parents are suing a controversial drug rehab facility. They blame Narconon Arrowhead for their daughter's death, and have become the latest to file suit.
The parents of Stacy Dawn Murphy say they were lied to and led to believe Narconon would be a safe place for their daughter. Now, they've hired a high-powered attorney to help prove their case.
"I hugged her and I had no idea that would be the last time I would be able to hug her," said Stacy's mother, Tonya White.
Clinging to the memory of their final goodbye, White said she is trying to understand how her 20-year-old daughter could have died of an overdose, while in a rehab facility, being treated for her addiction to heroin.
10/5/2012 Related Story: Parents File Lawsuit Against Narconon After Owasso Woman Dies In Treatment
"I just couldn't believe it, I just kept screaming, ‘No, no, this can't be,' and I just kept screaming and crying over and over," White said.
Stacy agreed to go to Narconon Arrowhead, in McAlester, to overcome her addiction.
It's a drug and alcohol rehab facility that treats patients with teachings inspired by Church of Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard.
Stacy had completed seven weeks of treatment when her mom said her daughter got homesick and threatened to leave the program, if they didn't let her go home for one night.
"I think that they probably granted her the leave, because they were worried about her leaving and they wanted her to stay," White said.
Stacy's parents said she smuggled in drugs after that one-day visit home, and then overdosed within hours of her arrival back at Narconon.
"Seems to me, that the need to take care of her would have been heightened after being gone for twenty-four hours, and I get chills when I think about what they didn't do," said White's attorney, Gary Richardson.
Richardson claims there was no doctor on site when Stacy overdosed. That's something Stacy's parents say they were guaranteed, when they sent their daughter there.
Stacy's father, Robert, said employees knew his daughter was on the verge of an overdose, but did nothing to save her.
"Somebody wouldn't have the common sense, knowing someone is in an OD situation, to pick up a phone and call 911, or have a doctor come there immediately, or some trained staff member that can recognize an OD situation and take appropriate actions," Robert said.
Stacy's death was Narconon's third in less than a year.
The family's mission now is to make sure their daughter's death wasn't in vain.
"Nobody should go through this. People need a safe place to go, period," Robert said.
Narconon CEO Gary Smith said the allegations in this suit will be addressed in a court of law and not a public forum.
He also told News On 6 that a nurse is on duty and that there is staff coverage in the withdrawal unit 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
