Death in trash bin baffles friends

Deepa Bharath

Adam Casler was up early Monday morning.

The 25-year-old U.S. Marine reservist had returned after serving

for seven months in Iraq and had been living in Newport Beach for two

months with his friend James Briggs.

Briggs had recommended him for a job at the Irvine health club he

worked for, and Casler, after three rounds of interviews, had gotten

a job as a trainer in the club.

Monday was going to be his first day at work.

“Adam was excited,” Briggs said. “He woke me up at 6 that morning.

I was happy for him.”

The friends were on their high school wrestling team together and

grew up in Elko, a town of 25,000 in northern Nevada.

“Newport Beach was paradise to us,” Briggs said.

Casler will never live that life in paradise. On Monday afternoon,

police his life ended in a trash bin.

Casler tried to carjack a woman in the parking lot of a Ralphs

supermarket, officials said. During the incident, police said, Casler

ran away from the scene and dove into a trash bin in a nearby condo

complex, apparently to evade authorities.

The Orange County coroner has not yet determined how he died. An

autopsy was done, but the results were inconclusive, officials said.

A battery of tests, including toxicological tests, will be done in

the next few weeks to determine what caused Casler’s death.

Casler was wearing bulky clothing when he was found in the trash

bin and didn’t seem to have any apparent wounds, police said.

Officials have declined to comment further on the incident or talk

about how it unfolded.

But police did recover a handgun from Casler, and there was blood

on it they sad.

Briggs said that handgun was his and that Casler had stolen it

from his closet.

“I have so many questions,” Briggs said. “This is the hardest

thing I’ve ever had to deal with in my life.”

Briggs said he was confused and couldn’t wait to get some answers.

“He was perfectly normal,” he said. “We were both having a great

time, and everything was hunky dory.”

Casler also “had a brand new car,” Briggs said.

“Why would he carjack someone when he had a car?” he asked.

Also, Casler hadn’t driven to 17th Street, where the incident took

place, Briggs said.

“How did he get there?” he asked. “That’s a long walk from our

home.”

Casler’s mother said she and the rest of her family are “baffled.”

“I’m in shock,” said Pam Toulouse, who lives in Elko.

She said Casler spent the weekend before he died with his

stepfather and his 18-month old son.

“He had honorable goals,” Toulouse said. “He was planning on

getting a job, finding day care in Newport Beach and building a

relationship with his son. I don’t know why he did what the police

say he did.”

She has felt tormented every time she’s thought about “what

happened in that [trash bin].”

“I feel helpless because I don’t know anything,” she said. “And I

feel frustrated as a mother because officials tell me I won’t know

what caused his death for at least five months.”

Several agencies, including the Costa Mesa Police, the Orange

County district attorney, the coroner and the Grand Jury, are or will

be involved in the investigation.

Toulouse said Casler’s body will be escorted by a U.S. Marine to

Elko and will be buried honorably as a Marine because he was still on

active duty at the time of his death.

Casler was diagnosed a year ago with bipolar disorder, his mother

said.

“But he seemed normal,” she said. “He didn’t even have to take

medication for it. I don’t know what snapped in his brain. I just

don’t understand this.”

Casler was “perfect in every way,” said fellow Marine Sgt. Aaron

King, who served with him in Iraq.

“He was our squad commander,” he said. “He’s the best Marine I’ve

ever had the honor of serving with. He was awarded the Naval

Achievement Medal for his service in Iraq.”

Casler and King were part of the infantry unit that was involved

in combat operations and conducting raids to bust terrorists and

members of Saddam Hussein’s Baath party, he said.

Casler was also in great physical shape.

“We always worked out together,” King said. “He could outrun

anyone. The guy was the best at everything.”

King became emotional and choked up as he wondered if this was the

same Adam Casler he had had the pleasure of being around.

“He had his whole life planned out,” he said. “He had a business

plan to have his own gym and everything.”

Casler was a “decent student and a committed athlete,” said his

high school teacher Charles Briggs, also father of Casler’s friend

James Briggs.

“He was on the wrestling and football teams with my son,” he said.

“He was personable. He got along well. He was easy to talk to. This

is a mystery to us.”

Briggs said he has a hard time dealing with the way Casler died.

“He was hot-headed sometimes, like many kids are,” he said. “I

could’ve believed it if someone told me Adam walked into a bar, got

in a fight and got killed. Not that he would’ve done something like

that. But that I could’ve dealt with.

“But the way all this happened -- it just doesn’t make sense.”

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.