Michael Behring, the eldest son of Blackhawk developer and former
Seattle Seahawks owner Ken Behring, died in Santa Rosa earlier this week after what appeared to be an accidental drug overdose, police said.
Behring, who lived in Concord, was 52 and apparently lived a simple life compared to that of his well-known father. The younger Behring bought and sold items at flea markets and estate sales and bid on the contents of abandoned storage units.
Santa Rosa police Sgt.
Brian Davis said Behring's car had been loaded with belongings when he was pulled over by the sheriff's deputy on Monday night shortly ssss after 11 p.m. on Highway 101 near Centennial Way because his black 1988 Mercedes was weaving.
"It was clothes and household items just packed in," Davis said. "Who knows if he was moving or whatever, but he had a lot of junk in his car." There was also a letter that seemed to indicate Behring was going to lose his house in Concord, Davis said, but authorities have not had a chance to confirm that.
Behring passed field sobriety tests but was taken into custody on a $10, 000 traffic warrant from Contra Costa County, Davis said. During the booking process, a nurse observed Behring showing signs of drug use, and he was taken to
Sutter Medical Center, where he was admitted after telling a member of the hospital staff that he had swallowed a "fairly substantial amount of methamphetamine" after his car was stopped, the sergeant added.
Sheriff's deputies issued Behring a citation and left the hospital at about 1:25 a.m., and they were informed about 90 minutes later that he had died, Davis said.
Pathologists who performed an autopsy on Wednesday found a plastic bag in Behring's stomach with a substance that appeared to be methamphetamine, Davis said.
"Everything is consistent with a drug overdose," Davis said. "There was no trauma to the body."
Behring, who reportedly was estranged from his wife and four children, was the eldest of five sons of Ken and Pat Behring, who live in Blackhawk, the upscale, gated community neighboring Danville that Ken Behring built beginning in the 1970s. Family members could not be reached for comment on Friday.
Michael Behring had been distant from his parents and family for years, but published reports said that he had recently attended his mother's 75th birthday party and seemed to want to get more involved with his father's work. Ken Behring not only has been a major developer but has a successful automotive museum in Blackhawk, containing one of the world's more substantial collections of antique and classic
cars, and has donated $100 million to the
Smithsonian Institution. Last weekend, Ken Behring helped dedicate the
Kenneth E. Behring Family Hall of Mammals in the
National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.
