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Investigators are exploring whether 20-year-old Jimmey Gracey, a University of Alabama student who was found dead in Spain, may have been drugged before ending up in the water, as authorities work to determine whether his death was accidental or the result of foul play.
“They’re going to want to determine whether this was something nefarious or something innocent,” retired detective Brian Foley said Sunday on “Fox & Friends Weekend.”
Foley, a former chief of detectives with the Hartford Police Department, said investigators will examine toxicology results, surveillance footage and witness accounts as they piece together what happened to Gracey.
JIMMY GRACEY’S WALLET FOUND INTACT, BUT DRUGGING NOT RULED OUT IN DEATH OF ALABAMA STUDENT IN BARCELONA
An image of Jimmy Gracey wearing an Alabama Crimson Tide football jersey inset over the facade outside Shoko, the beachfront nightclub in Barcelona where he was last seen alive. (Getty Images, Gracey family)
The 20-year-old disappeared on March 17 while in Barcelona. His body was later recovered in the water in Port Olímpic.
Reports suggest authorities have not ruled out the possibility that Gracey may have been drugged before entering the water — a key question that could shape the direction of the investigation.
“Toxicology is going to take a little while, usually around a regular case, three to six weeks, but the cops are going to get a look at toxicology, usually within a week or so,” Foley explained.
“Ketamine or ketamine-like drugs will stay in your system. It’s detectable to a medical examiner in the blood, in the liver and in the eyes, and, if it’s in the system, they’ll be able to determine that.”
MYSTERY DEEPENS AS NANCY GRACE QUESTIONS ‘ACCIDENTAL’ DEATH OF ALABAMA STUDENT IN BARCELONA
Catalan police from the Mossos d’Esquadra perform a recovery operation at Port Olimpic marina in Barcelona, Spain on Thursday, Mar. 19. (James Breeden for Digital)
Alcohol levels should also be determined early in the examination, he added.
“They should be able to determine that pretty early, get that information to the cops pretty early,” he said.
Foley also pushed back on concerns about the overseas investigation, saying Spanish authorities are “equal to anything that we have” in the United States.
“So let me tell you, Barcelona is equal to anything that we have. Spain, as a whole, is equal anything we have here, as is Barcelona. So there’s no real loss there. It’s the same kind of system, medical examiners and everything,” Foley said.
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Gracey, a University of Alabama junior, vanished around 3 a.m. after visiting the waterfront Shoko restaurant and nightclub.
His mother, Therese, said her son “was with friends, but they got separated at the end of the night.”
Digital’s Michael Ruiz, Greg Norman-Diamond, Alexandra Koch and Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.
