Trial delayed for Mass. parents accused in 4-year-old girl’s fatal prescription overdose

Trial delayed for Mass. couple accused in overdose

BROCKTON, Mass. — Jury selection was delayed Thursday for a couple charged with murder in the fatal drug overdose of their 4-year-old daughter, because lawyers were still working out pretrial issues, including whether the parents should have separate trials.

Michael and Carolyn Riley are charged with murder in the December 2006 death of their daughter, Rebecca. The girl had been diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity and bipolar disorders, and prosecutors allege that the Rileys gave the girl an overdose of prescription drugs she was taking to treat the disorders.

Judge Charles Hely delayed the start of jury selection because prosecutors and defense attorneys were squabbling over whether the jury should be allowed to hear all of the statements Carolyn and Michael Riley made to police and whether the Rileys should be tried separately.

Jury selection now is scheduled to begin next Wednesday. Testimony is expected to begin Jan. 19.

Defense lawyers are expected to argue that the Rileys gave their daughter only the amount of medication prescribed by her psychiatrist. They say she died of pneumonia, not a drug overdose.

Prosecutors maintain that the parents overmedicated the girl for months and did not seek medical attention when she became sick in the final days of her life.

The case inflamed a debate in psychiatry about whether young children can be accurately diagnosed with serious mental illnesses, and if so, whether they should be treated with powerful medications used by adults.