The tragic demise of Las Vegas-based veterinarian, Dr. Shawn Frehner, has been ruled a suicide by the Clark County Coroner and Medical Examiner. The 56-year-old was discovered dead in Lake Mead last month, a sad conclusion to a tale that started with a viral video of him kicking a horse in the face. The coroner’s office confirmed his identity through dental records.
Frehner disappeared on April 6, shortly after the video of him allegedly abusing a horse he was supposed to be treating went viral. The video sparked widespread outrage, and Frehner was facing felony charges for animal abuse at the time of his disappearance. The coroner’s report indicates that Frehner injected himself with the euthanasia drug Pentobarbital before drowning in the lake, which spans from Nevada to Arizona.
In the aftermath of the video’s release, Frehner took to social media to apologize and clarify his actions. He insisted that the kick was not intended as abuse, but rather a method to reposition the horse so it could breathe and move, enabling him to administer anesthesia.
The horse’s owner, Shawna Gonzalez, expressed shock and sorrow at Frehner’s disappearance and subsequent death. Despite the controversy surrounding the video, she had hoped for his safe return. “It’s horrible, I never, ever wished this upon him, I never wished this upon anybody,” Gonzalez said during the search for Frehner.
Frehner’s father had also expressed worry for his son’s safety following the backlash from the video. After nearly two weeks of searching, authorities found Frehner’s truck abandoned near Hemenway Harbor at Lake Mead, with his wallet, keys, and phone inside. His body was recovered from the water near Boulder Islands on April 18 by the National Park Service, the lead agency in the search.
The horse that was kicked in the video received treatment for abrasions to the skull. The exact timeline of when Frehner took his own life remains unclear.