Lethal dosage of Diphenhydramine found in system of Enfield 12-year-old girl found dead
The results of a toxicology test on a 12-year-old girl who was found dead in her home in March have revealed that a lethal dosage of Diphenhydramine, also known by the trade name Benadryl, was found in her system.
The investigation began after the child was found dead in her Enfield home on Elm Street on March 18. On April 2, her stepfather, Anthony Federline, was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting her.
Multiple previously released search warrants have revealed several details about the investigation.
New search warrants that NBC Connecticut obtained on Tuesday said that the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner told detectives with the Enfield Police Department that the toxicology testing was completed on April 8.
The report indicated a lethal dosage of Diphenhydramine, also known by the trade name Benadryl, was found in the 12-year-old’s system. A level of 23,000 nanograms per milliliter of Diphenhydramine was in her blood, according to the warrant.
A level of 4,390 ng/ml of Diphenhydramine in children and 14,720 ng/ml in adults can be deadly, the warrant stated. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said that a significant amount would have had to be ingested to get to 23,000 ng/ml.
The testing also revealed that Fluoxetine, also known by the trade name Prozac, which she was not prescribed, was found in her system.
The 12-year-old girl’s cause and manner of death are still pending, according to the medical examiner.
The only Diphenhydramine found in the home was blue “Sleep Aid” gel tablets. No other medications, empty bottles, loose pills, or Diphenhydramine packaging were found in the home, according to the warrant.
Investigators do not know what kind of Diphenhydramine the 12-year-old girl ingested or how she ingested it, the warrant stated.
Approximately 60 milliliters of a brown colored fluid with a granular substance were also found in the 12-year-old girl’s stomach. The medical examiner said that if a large quantity of blue “sleep aid” capsules were ingested, there would be obvious blue stains in her gastrointestinal tract. Any pink or red Diphenhydramine would have shown stains as well, which the medical examiner did not see, according to the warrant.
If the girl were to have taken a liquid version of Diphenhydramine, it would require about 1.8 liters of it to reach a level of 23,000 ng/ml.
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The new warrants also revealed that investigators are requesting access and looking into Federline’s Meta accounts, Snapchat accounts, Amazon accounts, and CVS Caremark accounts after they did not find text messages between him and the child through a digital download of his cell phone.
In an interview between detectives and the 12-year-old girl’s mother, the mother told detectives that her daughter was “hypersexual,” according to the warrant. She also told detectives that she had purchased Sleep Aid and other medications from CVS stores.
“During this interview, [the girl’s mother] stated that she has an Amazon account which she uses to purchase various items such as medications, the sleep aid and the sexual pleasure device that she purchased for the juvenile victim,” the warrant stated.
Federline has not been formally charged with murder.
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