The remains of Timothy Hamlett, the 20-year-old missing University of Pennsylvania track star, were found in the Hudson River on Friday. He has been missing since late December.
The student was allegedly addicted to male enhancement drugs and energy supplements, and was last seen on the George Washington Bridge near his family’s home in Teaneck, New Jersey. Police suspect that the student headed to a park at 174th Street, which is near the bridge, after a bunch of kids came across his cell phone and wallet nearby.
The student’s mother announced the distressing news on Facebook early Monday.
Earlier on in the year, the Hamlett family disclosed their son’s dramatic change since taking male enhancement drugs and energy supplements. Ultimately, they were forced to remove him from the university. According to Daily Mail,
Speaking to The Daily Beast in February, [the Hamlett family] said that everything changed for their son in 2013 when he suffered a leg injury in a track meet against Harvard.
Soon after, he started taking a cocktail of supplements that he bought from Amazon and eBay, including Cordyceps – a fungus extracted from caterpillars in China – and pills such as Vitalikor Male Enhancement and Big Jim and the Twins Male Enhancement Formula.
When his father asked him why he was taking some of the pills, he responded: ‘It’s not banned.’
He believed the pills were working and his coaches switched him from the 400m race to the 800m, which put more pressure on him, his parents said.
He started skipping practice and classes, and his family noticed he was becoming more isolated and disengaged. He started suffering from what his mother called ‘a supplement-induced psychosis’ and seemed almost manic.
His parents removed him from school and took him home to get help, but he was arrested in May 2014 for allegedly throwing bricks at homes and parked cars around his neighborhood.
He was arrested on third-degree aggravated assault and criminal mischief after a police officer found him cycling through the area and found brick dust inside his backpack. Hamlett was freed on bail and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
A memorial service for Hamlett will be held at Community Baptist Church in Englewood, New Jersey on Friday June 12 at 5pm.