Funeral set for cheerleader who died on Maui
By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau
WAILUKU, Maui — A funeral for a New Jersey cheerleader who was supposed to perform on Maui at the Hula Bowl has been scheduled for Monday.
Associated Press
Meanwhile at a news conference yesterday, Maui police provided few new details about the death of Lauren Crossan, reiterating that alcohol was a factor in a case that has been classified a "miscellaneous accident."
Acting Lt. Tivoli Faaumu of the Maui County police said yesterday there is no indication that the death of New Jersey cheerleader Lauren Crossan, 18, was anything other than an accident, but no theories have been ruled out. Services have been set for Crossan in her hometown of Randolph.
Crossan, 18, fell mysteriously from a ninth-floor balcony at the Hyatt Regency Resort in Ka'anapali Monday.
Police acknowledged that while the case may look suspicious, they simply have been unable to find any evidence pointing to foul play, although final toxicology and forensic reports have yet to be completed.
Yet the show will go on tomorrow for hundreds of cheerleaders from across the country who will perform at halftime of the Hula Bowl Maui college all-star football game.
But for the small party of Randolph, N.J., cheerleaders, their Maui vacation is over. They were expected to return home in the wake of Crossan's death.
The funeral, and a wake to be held Sunday night, will be in Crossan's hometown of Randolph. She will be buried at Locust Hill Cemetery in neighboring Dover.
Acting Lt. Tivoli Faaumu said Crossan met Erik B. Larson of Folsom, Calif., and ended up in his ninth-floor room Sunday night. The next morning, Crossan's nude body was discovered below the hotel's Lahaina Tower.
Detectives later Monday arrested Larson and his friend, Donald L. Devorss, also of Folsom. After a night in jail, Larson and Devorss were released Tuesday without being charged. Police yesterday declined to provide more details about what the two men told them.
Preliminary autopsy results indicate that Crossan, a Randolph High School senior, died from injuries from the fall. The results also indicate she wasn't sexually assaulted or had any drugs in her system, though she had been drinking.
Crossan and the two California men are under the legal drinking age of 21, and police said they have not determined how the woman obtained alcohol.
The Hula Bowl is planning a prayer or tribute in memory of Crossan at tomorrow's game, officials said.
Reach Timothy Hurley at (808) 244-4880 or thurley@honoluluadvertiser.com.
