Teens arrested in overdose death
Podcast Episode
The conversation regarding prescription drug abuse continues with Rock County Sheriff Bob Spoden. Also, we have recently been informed that a Janesville man is facing his 10th drunk driving offense. Sheriff Spoden comments on repeat offenders.
Podcast Episode
WCLO's Stan Stricker reports on arrests made in prescription drug overdose death of Edgerton Middle School student
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Alex Aiken
EDGERTON — When Jennifer Bethel heard two kids were arrested in her son’s overdose death, the news was bittersweet.
“It’s a good thing, but then again it’s sad that it has to come down to this,” she said. “They’re so young, too. They probably didn’t realize the effects of what they did.”
Two Edgerton teens were arrested Thursday in the Feb. 9 oxycodone overdose death of Bethel’s son, Alex Aiken, 13, of Milton Township.
A 14-year-old girl was referred to juvenile authorities on a charge of first-degree reckless homicide, and a 13-year-old boy was referred on a charge of possession of prescription medication, according to the Rock County Sheriff’s Office.
The teens were taken into custody after toxicology results from the state crime lab confirmed Aiken died of an oxycodone overdose.
A 13-year-old friend of Aiken also was hospitalized Feb. 9 after reportedly overdosing.
Aiken died of drug toxicity, according to the Rock County Coroner’s Office.
The source of the drugs was a relative of the 14-year-old girl, according to the sheriff’s office. The relative didn’t know medication was missing.
Both teens were Aiken’s friends, and the boy was Aiken’s classmate at Edgerton Middle School. The girl attends an alternative school in Edgerton.
The teens remained in juvenile detention Thursday and are expected to appear in Rock County Court today.
Investigators waited nearly a month to make an arrest because they were waiting for toxicology results, Capt. Todd Christiansen said. They investigated Aiken’s friends, phone records and followed leads while waiting.
Prosecutors can charge the girl under the state’s Len Bias law, which allows people who supply drugs in an overdose death to be charged with homicide.
The cases are difficult to investigate because drugs often pass through many people’s hands before they’re ingested, Christiansen said. This is the first time the sheriff’s office has made an arrest under the Len Bias law, but detectives have investigated overdose deaths.
“The drug trail was always so cloudy,” Christiansen said.
In Aiken’s case, investigators quickly knew the source of the oxycodone, calling it a “rather short chain.”
Since Aiken’s death, police, school and community youth advocates have been working to educate children and parents about prescription drug abuse in Rock County.
Prescription drug abuse is a growing problem among Rock County teens, Sheriff Bob Spoden said.
“We need to inform our parents that they need to have strict control of prescription drugs that are in their home,” Spoden said.
Almost 23 percent of high school students and about 7 percent of middle school students reported using a prescription drug without a doctor’s prescription, according to a recent Youth Risk Behavior Survey of students in Rock County.
Prescription drugs often are a gateway to heroin, another drug that has caused at least 13 overdose deaths in Rock County in the last two years, Christiansen said. The increase in prescription drug abuse locally coincided with the rise in heroin abuse.
No heroin was involved in Aiken’s death, he said.
“They tend to start with the oxycodone and OxyContin, and for whatever reason, if they’re not getting a big enough high from that, they move on to heroin,” Christiansen said.
Milton police held a forum Wednesday to discuss drug abuse.
Bethel attended the forum. She hopes Thursday’s arrests make an impact on the community.
“Hopefully, they’ll learn from their mistakes,” she said. “Maybe it will make another kid wake up and say, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’”
