Medical Massachusetts Malpractice Case Follows Guilty Verdict for Mother
Massachusetts resident Carolyn Riley wasn't a good parent, her former neighbors said, but they doubted that she intentionally overdosed her 4-year-old daughter with psychotropic drugs. According to the state medical examiner, Rebecca died of a combination of Clonidine, a blood pressure medication for ADHD and Depakote, an antiseizure and mood stabilizing drug for bipolar disorder and two over the counter cough suppressants and an antihistamine. Carolyn Riley was charged and convicted of second degree murder in Massachusetts in the death of her daughter, Rebecca. Riley's husband, Michael, will face the same charge when his case goes to trial next month.
The defense argued the girl died of rapid-onset pneumonia and that Carolyn Riley routinely followed the doctors orders in dispensing medications to her children.
During the murder trial, a Boston psychiatrist testified that the girl's mother, Carolyn Riley of Hull, acknowledged occasionally giving her daughter more than the authorized dose of certain medicines, at times even doubling them. Despite these admissions, Dr. Kayoko Kifuji of Tufts Medical Center said she was justified in prescribing potent psychotropic drugs for the girl at age 2 and trusting that the mother would generally administer them appropriately. Rebecca was diagnosed with hyperactivity disorder and prescribed sedating medication, clonidone, based on the mother's accounts of aggressive behavior, sleep problems and a family history of mental illness without consulting other clinicians or pre-school staff.
Kifugi still faces a medical malpractice lawsuit filed by the estate of Rebecca Riley. She also had faced possible criminal charges after Rebecca died, but after a long investigation, a jury refused to indict the doctor.
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