***Sheriff's Coroner Division: Cause of death will be listed as undetermined***
***"Minimal amount" of methadone in her system.***
***"No signs of trauma or injuries"***
***Inkyo "booked on suspicion of murder," later released***
From The MONTERREY HERALD
Porn star dies in King City, husband dies in Morgan Hill
No clear cause of death discovered in either case
A couple that checked into a King City motel in August and died within weeks of each other had ties to the adult film industry.
Speculation about how they died has been rampant on Internet blogs and among porn industry insiders since adult film actress Maryam Irene Haley — known in the porn industry as Haley Paige — died on Aug. 21 at Mee Memorial Hospital in King City. She was 25.
Her husband, X-rated movie director Inkyo Volt Hwang, known sometimes as "Chico" and also as "Wanker Wong," was found dead on Sept. 29 at a motel in Morgan Hill. He was 38.
Capt. Bruce Miller of the King City Police Department said Haley and Hwang checked into the Motel 6 in King City on Aug. 20. A clerk contacted at the motel on Friday had no recollection of the couple.
"My understanding is they were returning to the San Diego area and we were a stopover," said Miller.
About 2:30 p.m. Aug. 21, Miller said, his department responded to a call from the emergency room at Mee Memorial to investigate a suspicious death.
Miller said police had not made Haley's death public because, "it was just a suspicious death investigation.
No drugs found|
Miller said Hwang, whom he called a person of interest in the investigation, was questioned at the time of Haley's death.
Miller said officers also searched the motel room where the couple was staying and that no drugs or weapons were recovered there.
He declined to say if any were found in the car Hwang and Haley were traveling in, but the vehicle was seized. It turned out the 2007 Toyota Corolla had been reported stolen on July 23 by Enterprise Rent-A-Car in Nevada after it was not returned, Miller said.
After the interview with police, Miller said Hwang was arrested and booked into Monterey County Jail on suspicion of possessing a stolen vehicle. He was also booked on suspicion of murder, but according to jail staff members, records show Hwang was released on Aug. 24 because no charges were filed against him within the required 48 hours.
"We have not determined if it was a homicide," Miller said, adding that the case remains open as they await a final autopsy report.
"After his release, I believe he returned south and contacted his relatives," said Miller.
Detective Gary Wheelus of the Monterey County Sheriff's Coroner Division said he was in the process of completing the report Friday. The cause of death will be listed as undetermined, he said.
"There is no way to guess," he said.
The examination showed no signs of trauma or injuries, he said, and toxicology reports showed Haley only had a minimal amount of methadone in her system. He declined to say exactly how much.
Miller said that during their investigation, they were told Haley had a heroin addiction, but because he was not the investigating officer, Miller said he could not say who had told them that or if it had been confirmed.
The primary investigator was not available to comment Friday, Miller said.
Wheelus said that depending on a person's prior history of drug use, even a small amount of methadone could be lethal.
"What will kill one person won't even hurt another," he said.
Wheelus said it was Hwang who took Haley to the hospital after he found her unresponsive in the motel room where they were staying.
Miller said Haley had no pulse and wasn't breathing when she arrived at the emergency room. The actress was later pronounced dead.
Answered an ad|
Haley got her start in the adult film industry in 2000 when she worked at a video rental store and answered a newspaper advertisement for a nude model.
In 2005 she was named the year's Unsung Siren by the X-Rated Critics Organization, according to her Web site.
She appeared in more than 300 adult movies, according to the Adult Video News Media Network.
Haley also directed a movie in 2006 and had aspirations of becoming a psychologist or sex therapist after her career in the adult movie business, her Web site states.
Less than three weeks before her death Haley and Hwang were married.
Susan Wohlbrandt, spokeswoman for the Clark County Recorder's Office in Nevada, said the ceremony took place on Aug. 2 at the Las Vegas Garden of Love.
On the marriage certificate, Hwang listed his residence in Canoga Park; Haley listed hers in Woodland Hills.
Police said they don't know why Hwang was in Morgan Hill.
Strange death|
Cmdr. Joe Sampson of the Morgan Hill Police Department said Hwang checked into a room at the Economy Inn on Sept. 28.
The next day, a manager knocked on the room door to ask Hwang if he wanted to stay another night, but after getting no response, the police were called, said Sampson.
When they went inside the room, they found Hwang's body.
"He was halfway in the bed halfway out sort of straddling it," said Sampson. "He was fully clothed."
Sampson said there were no signs of injuries or trauma and that Hwang's death did not appear to be suspicious.
He said it appeared Hwang had been alone in the room and that no drugs or weapons were recovered from the room.
The Santa Clara County Medical Examiner's Office on Friday said a determination of the cause of death was pending.
Miller said Hwang's death doesn't change their investigation into the death of Haley.
"It's still open until we get the test results from the coroner."
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