Death at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival Ruled a Homicide – Second Similar Attack Reported
The San Francisco Police Department is looking for information into the death of a 23-year-old Canadian backpacker named Audrey Carey who was found dead in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park during the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival this weekend, October 2nd through 4th.
The St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec native is thought to have attended the free festival on Friday, October 2nd, and her body was found Saturday, October 3rd near the Golden Gate Park Golf Course at about 9:15 a.m. by a passerby. Police suspect foul play was involved.
“On the morning of October 3, 2015 a passerby called police to check on the well-being of a female who was seen lying face down in Golden Gate Park near Chain of Lakes Drive and John F. Kennedy Drive,” says the San Francisco Police Department media relations unit. “When officers and paramedics responded, they located the victim, identified as 23-year-old Audrey Carey of Quebec, Canada. Carey was declared deceased by paramedics. The San Francisco Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Carey’s death a homicide.”
According to an autopsy report, Audrey suffered blunt force trauma to the head. Upon the news of the death of Audrey Carey, her family released a statement:
“The family of Audrey Carey, who tragically died last Saturday while traveling in the San Francisco area, would like to thank the people who have expressed sympathy and support in the ordeal they are going through. Audrey was a young girl full of life and loved by all. The family now wishes to grieve in privacy and in private, and asked representatives of the media to please respect their will. The family does not want to give interview at the moment and will make no further comment.”
In a separate incident, another female backpacker and festival attendee was hit in the head and rendered unconscious by two attackers who stole her backpack, wallet and keys as she left the festival around 8:30 p.m. Friday (8-2). San Francisco police say it is unclear at the moment if the two incidents are related.
Police are asking anyone who may have known Audrey or come in contact with her during Hardly Strictly Bluegrass to phone them at (415) 575-4444 or text-a-tip to TIP411 and begin the text with SFPD.
Shastacatfish
October 7, 2015 @ 4:11 pm
I was fixin’ to leave a post on the thread about security at HSB, but this popped up first and I think it is obvious that they are related. Before speaking to the broader issue, I want to say that this death is incredibly unfortunate and sad.
My wife and I have been to five or six HSB over the years and seen some great shows. Good memories include the best performance I have seen of Robert Earl Keen (he opened with Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way!), a rainy Alison Krauss and Robert Plant, and aged Charlie Louvin rocking the house, a very out of place MC Hammer and a drunk Jerry Jeff Walker. I first came to love country music while living in Texas and the opportunity to see folks like James McMurtry, Reckless Kelly, REK and others out here in Northern California was great. Yet, despite the line up continuing to improve over the years, the overall experience has declined precipitously. A couple of years ago my wife and I finally decided to stop making the annual pilgrimage down to SF for the show. It was just too nasty and our enjoyment of the music was impaired.
I think a number of things contributed to this. First, the show is in Golden Gate Park. What was once a great venue for a little festival was swiftly outgrown by the number of attendees. This latter development was a result of the fact that the show is free. This is great, but when you combine free concert with Golden Gate Park, San Francisco’s finest make their appearance. Per the first article about security, I think that this is the cause for the stringent security. The way the stages are tucked away in hidden gullies and are surrounded by dense forest can make the area a security nightmare. These are the kinds of places where you can play a robust game of “find the condom and hypodermic needle”. Without the security, it would be possible for potentially dangerous folks getting very close to the stage with the staff and performers unaware. This is especially true of the Rooster Stage (the best one, for my money too).
All that being said, given the types of people who are known for lurking in parks in San Francisco, the stringent security is not a surprise. I do not think it is reasonable to expect the same kind of security or laxer conditions that one would have in a more controlled environment. The fact that someone was killed and another mugged is not a surprise. It is absolutely tragic and I think it is a direct result of the environment of HSB. The location is the root. A free festival in a place that has its share of shady or dangerous characters already present is a recipe for trouble. Add to it the overgrown brush and trees with isolated tunnels and passage ways cut through them and it is almost a certainty that something bad will happen.
I hope HSB survives, but they may have to make changes to do so.
Trigger
October 7, 2015 @ 4:37 pm
Thanks for the insight Shastacatfish.
SR
October 7, 2015 @ 5:14 pm
I have been to many Hardly Strictly’s as well and seen some awesome acts. It is a great festival. Your statement about it being free is perfect. If they charged a dollar to get in I bet half the people would show up. There are far too many predators that lurk around that festival.
Bear
October 8, 2015 @ 9:50 am
To bad they can’t manage crowds like they do at Stern Grove. Golden Gate Park is out in the open and Stern Grove is down in a gulch where it is easier to section off the venue otherwise I’d say limit the number of patrons. But this incident will surely sour the festival in terms of stricter security next year, which will cause many people to not go because “down with the man, man” meaning it is just less fun.
But you are correct the eucalyptus and bushes are just ripe with little nooks that allow people to get into trouble and people are so dazed from the atmosphere that nobody can really pay attention to anything specific outside the music. Hell Outside Lands is at the same location and they can’t keep people out even with fences and a ridiculous ticket price. It is just a very porous location in terms of good security. I’d imagine much like Central Park in NY.
And festival especially those form out of town DO NOT pay attention to much outside the music & food stalls and SF vibe so the amount of distraction is is so high it is perfect for crime. I’m surprised it isn’t actually more common.
Jake G
October 8, 2015 @ 10:46 am
So tragic, so fucked up. Words fail here.
As a bay area native, I’d echo a lot of what shastacatsfish has said, especially the appreciation of getting to see artists that don’t come out this way much, but I think you’re over-emphasizing the connection between an incident like this and the stage security.
As you pointed out, the area is porous and wooded. No amount of stage security could have prevented this, you’d need not only exponentially more security, but security of a different type doing completely different things. Maybe too much effort went into keeping people from dancing near the stages. Women being assaulted in isolated areas is all too common a problem; is people endangering artists on stage in front of thousands a regular thing?
Also, the big increase in turnout isn’t just an HSB thing; it’s a bay area thing and we’re all drowning in this huge population increase. It’s really effecting our whole infrastructure and economy: our transit system is packed to the gills, the schools are overflowing, there’s hardly an affordable home to be found. But short of the tech bubble popping, that’s life here for now. For me as a resident, expecting HSB to be the one part of my life here that hasn’t been effected by the population boom is unreasonable.
As long as they ban cigarettes in the park, people will be slipping off into those bushes.
Shastacatfish
October 8, 2015 @ 5:17 pm
Jake G, I was not trying to insinuate that the stage security would have prevented violence among the general festival attendance. Instead, I was trying to correlate the need for stringent security around the stages with the generally dangerous environment present in Golden Gate Park, the same security threat that likely resulted in this unfortunate death. Of course the stage security could not prevent something going on in the bushes away from the immediate stage area.
Matty T
October 7, 2015 @ 8:50 pm
Awful news. I sure hope whoever did it is caught, prosecuted and convicted.