BOSTON (AP) — The parents of a 4-year-old Massachusetts girl who prosecutors say died of a prescription drug overdose are set to go to trial on murder charges.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin Thursday in Brockton Superior Court in the trial of Michael and Carolyn Riley. They are from the town of Hull and are charged with deliberately overmedicating their daughter Rebecca. The girl was found dead on the floor of her parents’ bedroom in December 2006.
Prosecutors allege that Rebecca died of an overdose of drugs used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity and bipolar disorders.
The case reignited a long-running debate in psychiatry over whether young children can be accurately diagnosed with serious mental illnesses.
The Rileys contend the girl died of pneumonia.