Mass. mother accused of giving 4-year-old fatal drug prescription drug overdose goes on trial

Mom on trial in Mass. girl’s alleged drug death

BROCKTON, Mass. — A prosecutor says a Massachusetts mother killed her 4-year-old daughter by giving her an overdose of prescription drugs and by refusing to take her to a doctor when she became ill with pneumonia.

But Carolyn Riley’s defense attorney told a jury Tuesday that Riley was only following the advice of a psychiatrist in giving her drugs to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and bipolar disorder. The defense says Rebecca Riley died in 2006 of pneumonia, not a drug overdose.

Assistant District Attorney Frank Middleton says Riley concocted symptoms of mental illness for her daughter to get disability payments and later hoarded psychiatric medication that she used to keep the girl quiet.

Riley and her husband are being tried separately on murder charges.