* The latest from the Chris Kelly case. He may have taken rat poison…

Christopher Kelly placed a mattress in a rented trailer at a suburban lumber yard Friday night, set up photographs of his children around it, then ingested pills and possibly rat poison, according to a source with specific knowledge of the investigation into Kelly’s death.

For some reason, he then left the trailer and attempted to drive away from the area. He made it only about 100 feet in the parking lot of the Forest Lumber yard before contacting his girlfriend, touching off a chain of events that saw Kelly taken to two hospitals before he died.

Horrible. Just horrible.

* The Sun-Times has some interesting background on Kelly’s death…

Just days before he died of an apparent overdose, a defiant Christopher Kelly was resolved to fight a corruption trial he faced, if only to thumb his nose at federal authorities.

Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s fund-raiser and adviser suddenly flip-flopped, however, after faced with another point of pressure. On the eve of trial, the government asked a judge to revoke Kelly’s bond, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.

“The motion pushed him over the edge,” leading him to plead guilty, said a confidant, who asked not to be named. […]

The government’s request came after Kelly got into what one source described as a shouting match with an owner of VLive Club. Kelly had demanded to see the club’s books. He had invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in the business through his girlfriend, Clarissa Flores, sources familiar with the exchange said.

Sneed fills in another blank…

: A top source tells Sneed “there was a prior attempt by Kelly to kill himself a week before he died . . . apparently with pills.”

* The Tribune editorial board wonders aloud…

Something that’s key to questions about his treatment: Kelly was lucid enough to speak to police and was stabilized at one point early Saturday. Later that morning, his condition apparently deteriorated and hospital officials sent him to Stroger Hospital, about 25 miles away. […]

But acute aspirin overdoses are generally treatable. It’s surprising for a person to die of an aspirin overdose today. It’s also very unusual if you reach the hospital and are able to receive treatment. A majority of people who die of drug overdoses expire before they reach a hospital, experts say.

That’s not something that I had found in my own reading these past few days. The Southtown straightens it out…

It may seem strange that Christopher Kelly would be talking coherently, then die several hours later, but Oak Forest Hospital physician Srinivas Jolepalem said it’s rather common in overdose cases.

“You can’t say someone’s stable just because they’re sitting up. That’s not the criteria they would use to figure out his condition,” said Jolepalem, who was not on duty the night of the incident. “Once a toxin is absorbed, and it goes to the kidney and brain, many things might start happening. The person would have difficulty breathing and can become comatose then die from kidney failure or brain damage.”

Depending how much of the substance the person ingested and how strong their body is, it can take up to several hours for this to happen.

Dr. Michael O’Mara, chairman of the emergency department at Little Company of Mary Hospital in Evergreen Park, said some drugs work quickly while others might take several days to kill a person.

And then there’s this from the Sun-Times…

When Kelly appeared stable and calm, Dr. Basava Ancha, who treated Kelly, decided it was best to transfer him to Stroger Hospital, where the county’s top toxicologist was on duty. [emphasis added]

One can’t help but wonder if Kelly just didn’t tell the docs about any poisons he may have taken. The Tribune editorial board, as usual, probably should’ve waited for more facts before blundering into this topic.

* Meanwhile, the key witness in the case, Clarissa Flores-Buhelos, was interviewed by Country Club Hills police, and the local chief of police said she was “cooperating.” AP…

[Defense attorney Terrence Gillespie] had said earlier Monday that Flores-Buhelos called him Friday night and told him that police wanted to question her. He said he agreed to meet with her and the police in his office on Saturday morning. But when she called police back to set up the appointment, they said Saturday morning would be inconvenient and suggested meeting on Monday.

[Country Club Hills Mayor Dwight Welch] told reporters on Sunday that Flores-Buhelos had “lawyered up” and was no longer cooperating with the police — something Gillespie challenged. She was always willing to cooperate, Gillespie said, but merely wanted to be accompanied by her lawyer when questioned.

Gillespie also criticized Welch for holding up Flores-Buhelos’ driver’s license at a news conference over the weekend and suggesting she was unwilling to cooperate.

“It’s outrageous — I’ve never seen anything like this in 30 years,” Gillespie said.

He’s right about that.

…Adding… Patterson has posted the video of Kelly’s speech during Rod Blagojevich’s first inauguration.