Getty/Facebook T Boone Pickens' Grandson
The billionaire oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens died at the age of 91. Sadly, he endured much grief and pain several years earlier when his young grandson and namesake, Thomas Boone Pickens IV, died at the age of 21 in 2013. Pickens IV was the son of Thomas Pickens III, one of T. Boone Pickens’ five children.
T. Boone Pickens’ Grandson, Ty Pickens, Died at the Age of 21 After a Heroin Injection
T. Boone Pickens IV was the son of Thomas Pickens III, T. Boone Pickens’ son. Affectionately known as “Ty,” he died after a heroin injection in January 2013. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner released his cause of death in April 2013, noting that it was “acute heroin intoxication,” Daily Mail reported.
Ty Pickens IV was taken in a private car to a hospital in Fort Worth. The student who found him said that he had probably been dead for a few hours and wouldn’t wake up. Witnesses told police that Ty was seen injecting heroin and taking Xanax that day.
At the time of his death, Ty was a junior at Texas Christian University. He was majoring in strategic communications. A student and his cousin said they had left him alone when they went to a store, and he looked like he was sleeping when they got back.
Ty’s family said in a statement at the time: “Ty’s loss at such a young age is an unspeakable family tragedy for the entire Pickens family and his many friends… We mourn his passing and respectfully request that the family be allowed to grieve in private in this time of sorrow.”
A Former TCU Student Pleaded Guilty for Giving Him the Heroin
In November 2014, Brennan Trainor Rodriguez, 23, pleaded guilty for giving the injection of heroin to Ty that ultimately killed him, Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. He was sentenced to 10 years of deferred adjudication and had to serve four months in jail. Pickens’ family said they were glad that a trial was avoided so the family didn’t have to be subjected to even more emotional trauma.
The family also said in a statement: “The guilty plea today reinforces what we have known all along — our son was not a heroin addict. He was victimized by Brennan Rodriguez.”
Ty’s parents, Tom and Jennifer Pickens, claimed that Rodriguez had injected Ty with heroin in order to steal his ATM card. Comerica Bank camera surveillance showed Rodriguez at an ATM on January 29 withdrawing $60 from Ty’s account, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram noted.
Rodriguez claimed that Pickens was upset about not being able to get back together with an ex-girlfriend and asked for enough heroin to fall asleep.
The defense attorney said that witnesses had reported that Ty had used heroin several times before that day and had given Rodriguez his ATM. The defense attorney, Greg Westfall, said in a statement: “We feel this resolution was in the best interest of all parties. This case is a tragedy. It’s one of those where everybody has suffered a loss. To not have to go through a trial is great in a case like this just because trials can be so ugly.”
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