After exhausting all online resources, I found myself unable to determine why Ivan de Prume left White Zombie in 1992, just as they were starting to blow up. In a 2022 interview with Metal Injection, he basically states that Rob Zombie did something "unexcusable" to him and that he felt "stabbed in the back." He does not get into specifics [or was he being cryptically specific?]
The recruitment and dismissal of Ivan's replacement, Phillip "Philo" Buerstatte, has also remained somewhat of a mystery, although Rob Zombie stated in 2013 that he was fired for doing drugs and doing "really bad stuff to the band." This is completely glossed over and ignored in the above referenced interview.
Phillip was only in White Zombie from 1992-1994, but he was riding their ascent to popularity during the most crucial period, before abruptly being replaced by John Tempesta. We don't hear much from him again until a 2009 reunion with his pre-Zombie band, "Last Crack," which seemed to be a pretty temporary reunion. He again seems to disappear from heavy music press until 2012, when a seemingly crazy man decides to impersonate Phillip in order to write a fraudulent $75,000 check, so he can pay for a stay in rehab. Within a year, Phillip turns up dead, and no cause of death or details are ever given.
Given all of this mystery, vagueness, and wierdness, I went ahead and obtained the official investigative report through a FOIA request, in hopes to shed some light on things. Here are my findings:
FOIA DOCUMENTS
After requesting information regarding the death investigation of Phillip Buerstatte, I recieved heavily redacted documents from the Madison Police Department. Even Phillip's name itself was redacted, which doesn't make any sense because how do I verify this report pertains to him at all!? I messaged the records department regarding this and here is what they said:
The name of the subject you requested has been redacted from the report due to the sensitive nature of the report. The redacted version of the report you received is correct. If you are next of kin and can prove this with a death certificate or have a domiciliary letter, a less redacted report may be released based on documents provided.
Since this report is allegedly "correct," they are obviously verifying that it pertains to Phillip Buerstatte's death. But rediculously, the reader is expected to assume his name appears in places where names or entire sentences are blacked out! Was this guy a has-been mostly forgotten rockstar or some sort of secret agent?
1 of 3 reasons given for redactions in this report is:
Highly personal and private information concerning a sensitive investigation, the disclosure of which would likely have a substantial adverse affect on important public interests because it: Would deter persons from reporting allegations and cooperating in investigations and prosecutions.
If this was a simple suicide or accidental overdose, what "allegations" are redacted here and by whom? Allegations presume some sort of crime. Prosecutions also presume a crime was commited. If an investigation leads to no crimes being commited, when does it become "sensitive" and at what point is that tag dismissed?
Although the excessive redactions make it impossible to determine such basic information as "cause of death," I have attempted to extract whatever scraps of information of note I could discern below.
NOTE: If you see [R1] or [R2] or something similar next to a person, it means the name or person was redacted and I am using my best judgement to assume who they are based upon context and other factors. If I can't figure out exactly who or what is being referenced, I'll just put [redacted].
Zed [R2] stated he is the son of Phillip Buerstatte [R1] He stated the last time he saw his father was in 2009 and that he has spoken with him briefly on the phone since then...I [Detective Riezler] told Zed [R2] that the grandmother [Phillip's]...did not tell me that Phillip [R2] had a son.
My guess is that Zed was probably between 23 to 33 years old when his father passed away. It seems quite plausible that Phillip may have left White Zombie around the same time his son was born. Could this have had something to do with his departure from the band?
It is confirmed elsewhere in the report that it was at the band Last Crack's 20 year anniversary reunion show in 2009 that father and son last met face to face. Safe to say they probably were not that close in the years leading up to Buerstatte's death.
The fact Phillip's grandmother did not mention to detectives that he had a son is odd, but can have several explanations. For now, I'd say it's mostly just another indication that the family was not close for many years, if ever.
The mother of Phillip Buerstatte [R1] stated that Michael Ewing was a good friend of Phillip [R1] and may be able to provide some information in reference to his death.
He [Ewing] was very upset about Phillip's [R1] death and stated they had known each other since they were teenagers. He stated he was trying to organize a benefit for Phillip [R1], coming up soon.
He stated that Phillip [R1] went to Meriter Hospital the Wednesday before he died and used a false name. Ewing stated he was with Phillip [R1] and told Phillip [R1] that he did not want to have anything to do with it. Phillip told him he had a warrant and that was why he was using a false name...Ewing stated that Phillip was released from jail on 1.15.2013.
I asked Ewing if he had ever been at [Phillip's house] and he said 3 times. He said he had never been in the house and he had only gone there to help Phillip[R1]. He stated one time, he took Phillip [R1] grocery shopping, and there were two times that he was there to help him when he was [redacted].
I asked him about his relationship with Phillip's [R1] son. Ewing stated he has only met Zed [R2] twice...He stated the last time he had seen Zed [R2] with his father was in September 2009, when they had a 20-year reunion of the band [Last Crack].
Michael Ewing sounds like a decent person who was genuinely concerned about his old friend's well being. You get the sense that Phillip perhaps wasn't always in such a bad way as he seems in the days leading up to his death. I get the impression of someone who has declined severely relatively recently.
Ewing confirms that his friend did some jail time [according to Phillip's roomate he was on parole for a OWI (Operating While Intoxicated) when he died]. This trip to the hospital is one of several stories in the report supporting the idea that Phillip had some sort of health issue, likely a serious one. Was a drunk driving accident the cause of both his incarceration and his recently dabilitating physical state?
Ewing's story about Phillip using a false name when he checked into Meriter Hospital strangely mirrors the story of Loren Breckenridge, who used Phillip's name when he fraudulantly checked into various rehab facilties the previous year. I'm not saying there is a connection between the 2 incidences, but worth noting.
The fact that Phillip may have had a warrant out for his arrest, only having been released from prison 4 months previous, says something about the type of life he was leading. He seemed to be on the edge.
I met with Michelle Wowk on the seventh floor of the City-County Building at the Dane County Jail...I received information that Wowk was Phillip's [R1] girlfriend and they had been involved prior to his death.
She said she had taken him to UW Hospital two or three days before he died and they did not provide him with any type of care.
Wowk told me she was the only one with Phillip [R1] when they went to UW...She state[d] Phillip [R1] was admitted under his name...and then he was out the door within three hours. She stated the only thing they prescribed [redacted]. She stated Phillip [R1] could hardly walk and told her he [redacted]. I asked her if Michael Ewing had ever taken Phillip [R1] to a hospital and she stated she did not know anything about that.
She stated Phillip [R1] did not have $5. She stated neither one of them had done any drugs...Wowk stated she lived in the house with Phillip [R1] for seven months...She stated the other individuals lived in the house and crashed and did not pay any money and turned out to be "dead beats."
Wowk described Phillip [R1] as taking care of her and the other occupants as her "friends". She stated the day that she was arrested they were supposed to receive money to leave the house at [redacted] from the bank who had just taken over the foreclosure. She described it as "Keys for Cash." She stated they were being paid $5000 to leave the house. She stated this arrangement was made by [redacted] and Curran when she was in the hospital with [redacted].
Wowk stated she has gone to Michael Ewing's house one time. She stated Phillip [R1] was trying to teach Ewing's son to play the drums and she knew that they were really good friends. Wowk stated she did not know anything about Ewing taking Phillip [R1] to the hospital.
Wowk was adamant that she was not involved in the death of Phillip [R1]...She knew he had severe health issues and feels that it is the hospital's fault for his death, due to the fact that they would not treat him. Wowk stated she did not go to Phillip's [R1] Funeral because she knew everyone would blame her for his death. - Detective Rietzler
This interview with Wowk appears to have been conducted from Dane County Jail, where she was presumably being held.
Her comment about taking Phillip to the hospital 3 days before he died mirrors Ewing comments about also taking Phillip to the hospital days before his death. Ewing refers to the hospital as Meriter while Wowk refers to it as UW [I looked it up, and these are references to the same hospital] Neither claims the other was present at the time. Ewing claimed Phillip used a different name, Wowk says he used his own. Did they both take Phillip to the hospital seperately, just days before he died? Something smells fishy here, but I tend to trust Ewing's story more than Wowk's.
Wowk said the hospital didn't provide him with any type of care, but then states he was prescribed something, which is redacted. According to Wowk, Phillip could hardly walk. This is somewhat corroborated by Ewing, who stated he stopped by Phillips house a few times to help him shop, presumably because he was physically impaired.
The picture Wowk seems to paint of the living arrangement with Phillip sounds like a bunch of junkies squatting in a house, freeloading what they can from Phillip - who's resources have been drained. Wowk states above that she lived with Phillip for 7 months before he died. According to Michael Ewing, Phillip was released from prison in January of 2013. Phillip died in May of 2013, which would have been about 4 months after he got out of prison. How did Wowk live with Phillip for 7 months when he was in prison just 3 months prior to his death? Again, I would take Ewing's word before Wowk's, which seems less reliable. Guy Curran said about Wowk "she only comes around every once in a while," and that the last time he saw her was 2 days previous. Doesn't sound like she "lived there" at all, according to Curran. But he could also be saying this to cover something up which might incriminate himself or others.
The crime of driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol is sometimes referred to as Operating While Intoxicated or Operating While Impaired (OWI). But in other cases, it is called Driving Under the Influence or DUI. - Forbes.com
If Phillip had gone to teach Ewing's son drums recently, that tells me his physical debilitation was probably a recent occurance. How could he go to a friend's house and teach drums if he could barely walk? This, in combination with Curran's apparent statement that Phillip was on parole for an OWI conviction further suggests to me that he was recently involved in a car accident, which left him in the physically debilitated state he was in around the time he died.
Wowk's comment that this "keys for cash" arrangement was made while she was in the hospital with, I presume Phillip, suggests to me that he may have spent more time at the hospital than can be gleaned from this heavily redacted report.
Wowk's statement that she was not involved with Phillip's death suggests to me that a possible homicide was still on the table as of the date of the interview, which was 8.21.2013. Otherwise, why would she have volunteered that information?This was 1 month after Detective Dorothy Reitzler claims she recieved the medical examiner's report, which includes the redacted cause of death. Whatever the Medical Examiner's report revealed, it doesn't sound like it was totally conclusive in ruling out homicide. This case was closed just 6 days later.
Wowk's statement that she believes the hospital is responsible for Phillip's death, and that people at the funeral might have blamed HER for his death indicates to me a guilty conscience on her part. I suspect she knows more about his death than this report may indicate. Are the redactions covering for her?
According to the investigative report, a man named Guy Curran was the one who called 911 to report Phillip had died.
Curran advised that he resides at [redacted address] and pays rent for one room which is located in the upstairs portion of the house...Curran advised that on 05/18/13 at approximately 2 or 3pm, he last spoke with Phillip [R1] at [redacted].
He proceeds to give details which are heavily redacted, but clearly point towards some sort of medical issues Phillip seemed to be having recently.
Curran continued to explain that approximately two to three days prior to 05/19/13, he was aware that Phillip [R1] went to a hospital in the City of Madison for [redacted]. Curran believed that Phillip [R1] had [redacted medical condition] and that was what he was seeking medical attention for. He does not seem to mention Ewing or Wowk in reference to these trips.
He goes on to describe a heavily redacted story about an incident apparently requiring paramedics to take Phillip to the hospital. He also states that he believed Phillip was on parole for a OWI [Operating While Intoxicated] conviction. Was this incident involving a paramedic related to a car accident he was involved with while driving under the influence?
She [Wowk] stated that the night when Phillip [R1] died, she had actually been upstairs, in the bedroom, asleep, when he was downstairs, [redacted]. She stated she limped downstairs earlier in the evening and Phillip [R1] asked her to get him some Kool-Aid. She stated she made him some Kool-Aid and kissed him goodnight and went back upstairs.
Why was Wowk limping, was she also injured in some way?
This is a house where almost everyone had warrants out for their arrest, the place is filthy, there are needles and prescription bottles sitting out in the open - I don't think this tender Kool-Aid moment followed by a kiss goodnight was quite the whole story or quite the whole truth. It sounds like she's covering something up to me.
Wowk said she was awakened by Guy Curran going into [roomate #1?] and [roomate #2?] room and yelling that they had a problem... She stated they had warrants and they left the house prior to the police arriving and that is why Curran telephoned the police, because Curran did not have warrants. Wowk stated "they had to literally carry me out of the house"...She was dropped off at [a friend's?] house because she had a warrant.
It seems the 2 "deadbeat" roommates that lived with Phil had warrants out for their arrest as well, so they took off in a panic when Phillip was found dead by Curran. At least, that's what is being said here by Ms Wowk. She had to be "carried out" because of her condition, whatever that was.
Although Guy Curran apparently had no warrants out for his arrest, I'm sure he was no saint. I mean who would even live in a house like this with 4 individuals who all happen to have warrants out for their arrest? What crimes did they all commit? Were they all involved with the same one?
Guy Curran states he got home on 5.19.13 just after 3am to find his roomate Philip Buerstatte unresponsive. The front door was unlocked and it sounds like Phllip was on the living room couch. He first called his name a few times, then kicked the couch in hopes of waking him up. He then checked for a pulse, and apparently didn't detect one because that was when he says he called 911.
Unless it was redacted, Curran does not mention his roomates all fleeing the scene.
Curran stated that he followed the instructions of the dispatcher...Curran stated that he was not advised by dispatch to start any resuscitation efforts...Curran then stayed on scene until he was contacted by Officer Rentmeester and Officer Boulden, who had arrived at prior to my arrival.
Take note that Curran says he was advised not to start any resuscitation efforts. Now take a look at this quote from Investigator Thomas Parr:
Officer Weberpal indicated that the roommate [Guy Curran] came home and found Phillip [R1]. He checked on the VICTIM, who was [redacted]. When calling 911 they indicated that he should get [Phillip] on the living room floor and attempt life-saving procedures.
So now we have Curran stating he was advised NOT to start any resuscitation efforts, and we have Investigator Parr stating 911 dispatch told Curran he SHOULD attempt life-saving procedures. Perhaps the unredacted sections would clear this up, but as it stands now, there appears to be a conflicting narrative as to how the body was handled initially, during those crucial minutes where a life might be saved.
I find Inv Parr's use of the word "victim" here to be interesting. If an old man dies in his rocking chair, is he a "victim?" If Phillip overdosed on drugs or commited suicide, or simply "died in his sleep," would that make him a "victim" in the strict legal sense of the word? I don't wanna make a big deal out of this detail, but I thought it was worth mentioning.
On [Sunday] 05/19/13 at approximately 3:19am, I [Officer Weberpal] was dispatched to [redacted address] in reference to a death investigation. Call notes indicated that the call was received to dispatch at 3:13am by an individual [Guy Curran] who resides at this address.
Initially when I read this, it sounded like Officer Weberpal was the first one dispatched to the scene. But as we saw in the last section, 2 officers had already arrived when Weberpal got there. Narrative reports from those 2 officers are not to be found here. In my experience reading these types of reports, EVERY aspect of what officers do is chronicled in some manner. The actions they take, the time stamps, and what they observe. Observations made by the first individuals upon the scene are particularly crucial, because they give us the most raw, unaltered version of the death scene. Why have the observations made by the first officers upon the scene been ommitted completely here? Not redacted, OMITTED.
Call notes indicated that the caller came home and observed his roommate deceased in the living room...While standing in the living room, I noticed the living conditions in this residence were very poor. I observed garbage located on the floor and it appeared as though the living room portion of the residence had not been cleaned or kept up for a long time.
Officer Weberpal makes similar observations when he goes upstairs to Phillip's room. Besides food and garbage, syringes and prescription drugs were found. Based upon Officer Parr's observations, the bottles seem to be prescriptions written out for someone besides Phillip. Weberpal "did not locate any heroin but...did locate two plastic baggies on a nightstand at the end of the bed that had the corners ripped out of them." A cell phone was found in the living room and upstairs in Phillip's bedroom.
It sounds like the junkies took their "junk" before fleeing the scene. But I'd expect them to take their paraphernalia as well. Why leave needles and bloodied tissues behind, but absolutely no trace of heroin? Given the redactions, I suppose it's possible Phillip could have been administering something else into his veigns to do with his medical condition. It's also possible his girlfriend was shooting drugs but he was not.
Also present in the residence at this time were Officer Rentmeester, Officer Boulden, and the caller...While I was making my initial observations on the scene, Madison Fire was leaving the scene and provided me with a printout from their medical device that they had connected to the victim.
Again, it sounds like quite a bit occured already from the time the 911 call was made till Officer Weberpal arrived. We have virtually nothing describing what occured during those 5-10 minutes, other than these vague references to a medical device printout. Couldn't they have just included reports from the first 2 responding officers and redacted the hell out of them like the rest of this?
POST MORTEM
Zed [R2] stated that he had talked with his grandmother, [redacted], when his father died. The grandmother [R3] did not tell him the specifics of the funeral or what was happening with his father's body. Zed [R2] was very upset, stating that his grandmother [R3] had his father's body cremated prior to his arrival so he was unable to view his father's remains.
Michael Ewing told him the grandmother had taken all of his father's belongings, including his documents in reference to all of the record recordings Phillip had created and any possible proceeds that he would still be earning from these gold records. Supposedly, the grandmother also took two "stage jackets" that Phillip [R1] would wear when he performed.
It doesn't really sound like Phillip had a will or any sort of legal arrangements figured out regarding his belongings/estate prior to his death, so dear old Grandma just went in and seized everything. I don't quite understand how she would then start getting royalties from Phillip's sources though, unless she was named by him somewhere not mentioned here. I would think his son would be "next-of-kin" when it comes to royalty payments, but he seems quite out of the loop here. Did Phillip simply not care where his prized belongings/royalties went after he died, or was he just too medicated to think past his next fix?
Phillip's mother [R4] advised she last spoke with her son in January or February of this year and he told her he was going back to school.
Ewing stated Phillip was released from prison on 1.15.13, which sounds like the approximate time-frame he last spoke with his mother, according to her. It makes sense that he might be thinking about going back to school at this time, or at least pretending to entertain the idea, if we assume he wanted to get his life back on track, having just gotten out of jail. But it seems he quickly changed course by getting in trouble with the law, prompting a warrant for his arrest to be ordered.
Phillip's mother [R4] advised that she had her daughter go into the house at [redacted address] to collect her son's belongings. She did not mention anything about her son having any other family members, except for the sister.
I thought the grandmother hauled off with everything?
Phillip's mother [R4] Basically wanted to know if anyone was going to be following up on this death investigation. I told her at this point, there was nothing of a suspicious nature and that I was going to have the cell phones downloaded to see if they provided any information.
Although it doesn't sound like Phillip's mother was very close to him at the time he died, she seems genuinely uncertain as to how he died as of 6.3.13, the day she was interviewed. It sounds like investigators had mostly ruled out foul play already, leaving suicide or accidental overdose as their likely assumptions concerning how he died.
Ewing admitted he does not have a good relationship with Phillip's [R1] mother; however, he did give her $300 to rent a car when she came into town for his funeral. He denied taking any of Phillip's [R1] items and believes the gold records and guitar and other items that are missing of [redacted] were taken by an individual whom he identified as [redacted]
I asked her [Wowk] what happened to Phillip's [R1] guitar and gold records. She stated the guitar Phillip had left at a friend's house and that person went [missing?] and the landlord cleaned up the apartment and that is how he lost his guitar.
She stated Phillip [R1] told her that he gave one of the gold records to somebody for money and all he had to do was give that person the money back and he would get his gold record back. Supposedly there was another guy that is holding on to the other record but she does not know who that is. Wowk stated Phillip [R1] had a lot of friends and she does not know where any of that stuff is. She stated some music award Phillip received is gone now and she does not know what happened to that.
[Phillip Beurstatte (Philo) of Last Crack, White Zombie pictured with son Zed from Last Crack 2009 Reunion in Madison - MaximumInk.com]
FED THE GODS
In the original Star Trek series from the 60s, there's a particular cliche that fans have joked about. It's usually something like this: Kirk, Spock, Bones McCoy, and Ensign Smith land on an unexplored planet, which happens to have breathable air. If the shit hits the fan, we know in advance who's gonna get incinerated by the green martian gook, and it's not gonna be one of the main characters!
Perhaps the "original cast of characters" in White Zombie were all too important to sacrifice, so "Ensign Buerstatte" was brought in to take one for the team. Or more specifically, Rob Zombie's career.
[Loren Breckenridge III allegedly attempted to write a fraudulent check for $75,000 under the assumed identity of Phillip Buerstatte, in order to pay for a stay in rehab]
In August of 2012, the above man's face was loaded up into all the major heavy music press, bringing with it the name "Phillip Buerstatte," who most people had either forgotten or never even heard of. This story even turned up in major news publications, such as the Marin Independent Journal.
9 months later, on Thursday May 23rd 2013, 4 days after Phillip Buerstatte died, Loren Breckenridge was sentenced to prison. Heavy music press was again filled with Breckenridge, Buerstatte, and White Zombie, and the story enjoyed another 15 minutes or so of fame.
On 5.24.13, Metal Injection, the same organization who brought the original White Zombie members back together for an interview in 2022, said this:
Loren Breckenridge...was arrested in Sausalito, California last year after attempting to pay with a fake check for a four-week stay in a rehab facility. Breckenridge claimed to be the former White Zombie drummer, and since Buerstatte had not been seen in quite a while, authorities had a problem confirming if he was lying or not.
But, with the announcement of Buerstatte's body being found, authorities had enough evidence that Breckenridge was lying as reported by The Marin Independent Journal.
The above article contains a link to the Marin Independent Journal, which takes you to an error page. I tracked down what I believe to be the original article and it DOES NOT report what the last part of that Metal Injection article states.
Further, authorities did NOT have a problem confirming if Breckenridge was "lying or not" about who he was because they used his fingerprints to confirm his identity back in August of 2012, a good 9 months before the above article was written!
Sausalito police went to Novato and arrested Breckenridge on suspicion of passing fictitious checks, identity theft and fraudulent use of account information. Breckenridge was booked into the Marin County Jail, where a fingerprint examination of his true identity was determined. - Marin Independent Journal
If the Marin Independent Journal reported in 2012 that fingerprints were used to determine Breckenridge's identity, why would they report 9 months later that Buerstatte's corpse was required to determine Breckinridge's identity? The answer is they wouldn't and they didn't. These are lies, and they think White Zombie fans are too stupid or don't care enough to see it. Unfortunately, they seem to be correct.
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