UNNAMED BABY BOY - 6 months (11/2013)/ Charged: Mother; Rickita Morrell - Tallahassee FL

Tallahassee mother charged in infant's death

Sean Rossman, Tallahassee Democrat
4:54 p.m. EDT July 7, 2014

The mother of a 6-month-old child who died from a toxic amount of an active ingredient in Benadryl, faces charges after investigators found she gave the baby the medicine in the past in order to help him sleep.

Rickita Morrell, 23, is charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child and child abuse in the death of her son. The baby's Nov. 25 death was attributed to a toxic amount of diphenhyrdramine found in his blood stream, court documents said.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says children under 2 should never be given any cough or cold product containing antihistamines, court documents said.

Morrell told Tallahassee Police Department investigators she had given Benadryl to the baby before but had always used dosages listed on the bottle. She said she had not given him any medicine containing diphenhydramine the morning he died, when she fed him a 6 ounce bottle of baby formula with PediaCare, a cough and fever reducer for children.

She started feeding the baby at 9 a.m., court documents said, but she said the baby fell asleep after 4 ounces. She called the police at 10:24 a.m. saying the baby was not breathing and was purple and the child died in the emergency room at 10:55 a.m.

A trace amount of diphenhydramine was found in the bottle, according to the State Medical Examiner's Office. A state toxicologist said that could be the result of cross-contamination. The toxicologist said the amount of diphenhydramine in the bottle would not have caused the lethal levels found in the baby's system, court documents said.

In another interview with authorities in June, Morrell recanted her earlier statement about giving Benadryl to the child.

Police did not find any Benadryl in her home, but did find two other cold medicines, Dimetapp and Theraflu. Theraflu was the only medicine found in the apartment with diphenhydramine in it.

Medical records showed the baby's pediatrician had noted Morrell was frustrated, tired and possibly depressed and needed help with the child in October. Investigators found she had not been getting that assistance, court documents said.

Investigators found the baby had also been subjected to physical abuse that included fractured ribs, a broken femur, a broken wrist and a large head contusion.

Morrell was booked into the Leon County Jail Thursday and was released after posting bail Friday.

http://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/2014/07/07/tallahassee-mother-charged-in-infants-death/12293765/