Narrator: in this case, the resulting waveform was measured against the waveform of a known sample of colchicine. mary yoder s blood was found to have unusually high concentrations of the drug. it certainly was a large amount compared to what we see in a clinical therapeutic application. marraffa: i received a phone call, and he said, you re never gonna believe it, but the colchicine level is through the roof. and i said, are you sure? and he said, yes, i have it right here. narrator: mary yoder had essentially overdosed on colchicine. was her death an accident, a suicide? no one thought mary was suicidal. and there are a lot of easier and less painful ways to kill yourself than using an obscure gout medication. phelps: no one in the family has gout. no one they know has gout. mary certainly didn t have gout. how did the colchicine get into her body and kill her?