Death Paxil 01/07/2009 Minnesota Grandmother Falls Asleep on Top of Infant Grandson, Smothering Him: Alcohol Also Involved
Summary:
Paragraph one reads: "Lakeville police say a woman who had been prescribed antidepressants fell asleep on top of her 6-week-old grandson after drinking martinis, killing him."
Paragraph four reads: "The warrant application, filed in the Dakota County Courthouse in Hastings, states Miller-Steiner takes Paxil and another antidepressant and had been advised by her doctor not to mix her medications with alcohol."
SSRI Stories Note: The Physicians Desk Reference states that antidepressants can cause a craving for alcohol and alcohol abuse. Also, the liver cannot metabolize the antidepressant and the alcohol simultaneously, thus leading to higher levels of both alcohol and the antidepressant in the human body.
http://www.twincities.com/allheadlines/ci_12737577
Lakeville woman suspected of accidentally smothering her infant grandson
Police: She was legally drunk, on antidepressants
By Frederick Melo and Jessica Fleming
Pioneer Press
Updated: 07/01/2009 11:39:43 PM CDT
Lakeville police say a woman who had been prescribed antidepressants fell asleep on top of her 6-week-old grandson after drinking martinis, killing him.
Police recently investigated the woman in connection with the May 9 death of Evan Michael Berney and referred the case to the Dakota County attorney's office to be reviewed for possible charges.
No charges have been filed, but a search warrant application filed by Lakeville police Detective R.P. Helmueller indicates Tina Louise Miller-Steiner, 45, admitted she had been watching Evan and fell asleep while feeding him.
The warrant application, filed in the Dakota County Courthouse in Hastings, states Miller-Steiner takes Paxil and another antidepressant and had been advised by her doctor not to mix her medications with alcohol.
Reached Wednesday, Miller-Steiner called her grandson's death a tragedy and said media reports have treated her unfairly.
"I haven't been charged with anything, and I'm really appalled that I have people coming with cameras in our face when we've had this tragic accident," she said. "To have people in my face, it's no respect for me and no respect for our family. ... It was a tragic accident."
According to the warrant affidavit, police responded to the incident May 9 and interviewed Miller-Steiner at the Lakeville Police Department. Miller-Steiner allegedly said: "I think I killed him. I think I killed him!"
She told them she had been watching Evan at her house in Lakeville