Toronto

NATIONAL CENTER FOR CASE STUDY TEACHING IN SCIENCE

Water Can Kill?

Exploring Effects of Osmosis

by

Susan D. Hester

Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology

University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

Part I – Three True Stories

Case 1: Jennifer Strange 1,2

Jennifer Strange was a 28-year-old mother of three who entered a radio contest to try to win a Nintendo Wii game

system for her children. As part of KDND’s “Hold your wee for a Wii” contest, Jennifer drank bottle after bottle of

water for hours without urinating.

Initially, Jennifer seemed to be having fun, joking lightheartedly with the radio hosts and obligingly downing an

8-ounce bottle of water every 15 minutes. As the hours passed, however, she developed a splitting headache and

dizziness. Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore and ran to the bathroom and vomited.

Jennifer called her boss to say that she was going home for the day because her headache was excruciating and she was

too sick for work. Jennifer’s mother found her that afternoon, dead in her home.

Case 2: Cassandra Killpack 3

After a 3 ½-week trial, a jury found Jennete Killpack, 29, guilty of killing her 4-year-old adopted daughter Cassandra

by forcing approximately a gallon of water down the girl’s throat in an attempt to discipline her.

A few hours after the “hydro-discipline,” the Killpacks called the paramedics because Cassandra was unresponsive. The

paramedics delivered her to the hospital, where she died later that day. Medical investigation found that Cassandra’s

brain was swollen and the concentration of sodium in her blood and tissues was far below normal.

Case 3: James McBride 4

James McBride, a 25-year-old police officer, died after a 12-mile bike ride that was part of a training course. Over the

course of the ride, James drank roughly three gallons of water that he brought with him in a pack.

During a session that focused on how to dismount a bike, an instructor noticed that McBride looked ill and asked...