CORRECTIONS: In a previous version of this article, Emma’s roommate situation and results from her medication were misstated. Emma was living with longtime friends, and her medication helped her manage her panic attacks. The Daily Orange regrets these errors. 

Nearly a week after Emma Wozny died, parents Linda DeWolfe Wozny and Michael Wozny have decided to publicly address the conditions surrounding their daughter’s death.

“We got the impression from people in our town and also from the local newspaper that they immediately assumed that she died from a drug overdose,” Linda DeWolfe Wozny said. “They should be stating what the police officers have said, which is that it is undetermined and under examination. We know that there are a number of possibilities.”

Emma Wozny, a junior psychology and neuroscience major, died Sept. 2 at her family’s home in Verona, N.J. She was a staff writer at The Daily Orange and spent a semester abroad in Spain with the SU Madrid program in fall 2012.

Linda DeWolfe Wozny and her husband speculate that Emma’s death may have been caused by an eating disorder from which she suffered since middle school, she said. After talking to her doctors, Emma’s mother said they believed she was taking her medication as prescribed, and may have died due to an electrolyte imbalance or other possible complications.

When “The Record,” a North New Jersey newspaper, reported Wednesday that the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office is investigating Emma’s death as an “apparent drug overdose,” her parents said they felt the need to clarify the truth to the public.

“We think it’s premature to label something as apparent when that’s just not the case,” said Michael Wozny, her father.

Linda DeWolfe Wozny said Emma suffered from a sleeping disorder, so she spent the night of her death staying up late to talk to her friends who live in different time zones. She said that she had a “good conversation” with Emma the night she died, describing the day as “nothing out of the ordinary.”

A few days before her death, Emma’s grandfather died. Michael Wozny said she had planned days in advance to drive home for the funeral because she was aware of his declining condition, so it was unlikely that her death was due to grief or trauma.

Emma decided to live in an apartment off campus with roommates she had known since freshman year. Linda DeWolfe Wozny said. She said Emma’s sense of humor made her a likeable, outgoing person.

But Emma also struggled with depression, giving her very distinct, emotional highs and lows, Linda DeWolfe Wozny said. She said Emma was also diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder at a young age, making interactions — such as processing pain — difficult. Some days, Linda DeWolfe Wozny said Emma would also experience panic attacks about her future and the possibility of obtaining a job.

“She was a psychology and neuroscience major and I almost think she majored in that because she wanted to learn why she was the way she was,” Linda DeWolfe Wozny said. “She understood that she was wired a little differently than most people.”

Emma’s eating disorder came to a head last semester when she called her parents to tell them she had occasionally been blacking out, said Michael Wozny.

He said he decided Emma needed immediate counseling and treatment. Doctors put her on medication, he said, which helped her manage her panic attacks.

The family is now waiting to receive autopsy and toxicology results from the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, but won’t receive them for three to four months, the father said.

“We were told by the examiner that Newark and Paterson, which are nearby towns, have had 17 deaths in the last week, so they’re really swamped,” Linda DeWolfe Wozny said. “Not knowing the results is the worst thing in the world.”

A memorial service will be held Sept. 21 in Emma’s hometown, where Linda DeWolfe Wozny said it will be an “unconventional funeral to celebrate her life.”

Her parents said they encourage those interested to make a donation to the Verona Music Parents Association, as Emma was heavily involved with the Verona High School marching band.

“There was so much more to her than her eating disorder,” Linda DeWolfe Wozny said. “She was engaged in so many things, she did so much. She had so many plans.”

Published on September 12, 2013 at 2:55 am

Contact Annie: apalme05@syr.edu