1st-degree murder charge reinstated against Hull parents
(AP Photo/Gary Higgins, pool/file 2007)
Michael and Carolyn Riley pleaded not guilty at their arraignment on Feb. 6, 2007, in Hingham District Court.
By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff
The state appeals court today reinstated first-degree murder charges against the parents of 4-year-old Rebecca Riley, ruling that there is sufficient evidence that the couple deliberately planned to kill her with an overdose of psychiatric drugs.
In a seven-page ruling, the appeals court found that Superior Court Judge John P. O'Connor Jr. erred in December 2007 when he reduced the charges against Michael and Carolyn Riley to second-degree murder. The appeals court ruled that prosecutors had presented sufficient evidence of premeditation to a Plymouth county grand jury to warrant the first-degree murder indictment that was brought against them in March 2007.
"The description of the defendants' entire course of conduct and actions toward Rebecca, including their prolonged ignoring of her conscious suffering and pleas for help, was sufficient to warrant a person of reasonable caution in concluding that the killing of Rebecca was deliberately premeditated and committed with extreme atrocity or cruelty,'' the appeals court wrote in today's decision.
Attorney Michael C. Bourbeau, who represents Carolyn Riley, said today's decision by the appeal court was disappointing, but he's anxious to take the case to trial and let a jury decide.
Bourbeau said an independent medical expert retained by the defense has concluded that Rebecca died of pneumonia and that the state medical examiner's office wrongly concluded that it was from a drug overdose.
"And if it's pneumonia, it's not a homicide,'' said Bourbeau, adding that Carolyn Riley "was always a very caring mother.''
Brockton attorney John G. Darrell, who represents Michael Riley, said he plans to appeal today's decision to the state Supreme Judicial Court.
Michael Riley "is not guilty of murder, of manslaughter, or of taking the life of his daughter,'' said Darrell, adding that when the case eventually goes to trial he believes a jury will return a not guilty verdict.
Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz released a statement saying he was pleased with the appeals court decision and declined further comment.
In court after the parents' arrests, a prosecutor alleged that the Rileys falsely claimed that their daughter was mentally unstable so she would qualify for Social Security disability benefits and then deliberately overmedicated her in December 2006. Carolyn Riley's brother, who was living with the Rileys in Hull, told investigators that Rebecca was ill for days prior to her death and that he pleaded with her parents to take her to the hospital, but they refused, according to a State Police affidavit filed in the case.
The appeals court remanded the case back to the Superior Court for trial.
Rebecca had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder when she was 28 months old and prescribed a powerful regimen of drugs. The medications included clonidine, a blood pressure medication that is sometimes used to calm aggressive children; Seroquel, an antipsychotic drug; and Depakote, an antiseizure drug, according to court records.
The state medical examiner found that Rebecca, who was found dead on the floor of her parents' bedroom, died from an overdose of prescription drugs and that the amount of clonidine in her system by itself was fatal.
Describing the evidence presented to the grand jury as disturbing and graphic, the appeals court wrote that it included allegations that Carolyn Riley gave Rebecca and her two siblings, then 6 and 11, clonidine to quiet them down and make them "pass out.'' The court wrote that Michael Riley was abusive and "preferred his car to the children.''
The appeals court concluded that prosecutors "also presented evidence of the defendants' behavior in the aftermath of Rebecca's death that the grand jury could view, at very least, as uncaring and indicative of guilt.''
Comment
Permalink
Email
too bad the death penalty was abolished....
Any doctor that would diagnose a 2 year old as bi-polar should have their license revoked.
it is disgusting when parents kill there children.seriously if you dont want them theres such thing as adoption centers.
Now the taxpayers of this great state will get to fund these two criminals living the easy life in a medium security prison. This state is so backwards.
The state should make everyone planning on being a parent take a psychiatric
test
Who in their right mind would diagnose a two-year-old with bipolar disorder? What a crying shame that any doctor would suggest pumping a toddler full of Seroquel (which is associated with weight gain) and a cocktail of anticonvulsants before considering the possibility that the kid was having a reasonable, sane reaction to an abusive home.
Why isn't the psychiatrist who prescribed all these medications on trial?
I agree
Some people should never have children and these two deserve whatever they get. Imagine your child pleading for help, your son pleading to take her to the hospital and they do absolutely nothing but let her suffer. The look of supposed agony on their faces, give me a break, what about the agony that poor child suffered and was found dead on their bedroom floor. They deserve to be locked up a real long time so they cannot do it again.
And lets not let the doctor who continued to write these excessive prescriptions off the hook either.....I can't wait to see how often she/he saw the child or got feedback from her school or pediatrician before dispensing enough meds to kill her.....
I second that chico.....
Diagnosed as BIPOLAR at 28 months. Are you kidding me. It takes some doctors years to even diagnose an adult as BIPOLAR. The amount drugs that child was on warrants an arrest of the doctor(s). Disgusting! The parents should suffer the same death sentence --feed them the drugs!
chico
what do you expect from massachusetts?
This story is absolutely sickening. That doctor should lose his license, prescribing sedatives to a four-year-old?! Our selfish, consumer-driven society has lost all sense of medical ethics. Those parents should go to jail.
This is a truly harrowing state of affairs.
I am (still) at a loss as to how a 28-month-old child (a baby, really) can manage at such a tender age to be diagnosed with a "bi-polar disorder" let alone be medicated with THREE DIFFERENT PRESCRIPTIONS including an "anti-psychotic drug."
Words fail...
cant they just calm them down with an overdose of clonidine? It appears thats legal in Mass for young children....is the doctor on trial? How would you know a child is bipolar at 28 months? can this be explained? I dont understand why this isnt blowing up about the doctors allowing this type of meds to be given to babies?
Ummm....there's more to this story, folks. This was on 60 Minutes a year or two ago, and there were a lot of questions as to possible inappropriate dosing of medications by the doctor. How 'bout it Globe; nice of you to make it look like there's only one side to the story. I believe the parents had instructions to increase the dose of medications if the patient wasn't responding well enough to the previous dose. So, just maybe, there's a doubt as to whether they were following the doctor's instructions and that's what led to the overdose? Try some balanced reporting....
How do you diagnose a 28-month-old with bipolar disorder?
It is pretty interesting that another medical examiner believes it was the flu...that would certainly be beyond a shadow of a doubt...
We don't know all the facts, do we, Chico??
Why aren't the doctors who diagnosed a 28 month old and presribed those kinds of drugs to such a young child on trial with the parents!?!
If the prosecutors can prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt to the jury then these parents will be justifiably punished severely. But please do not talk about the death penalty when innocent people are still convicted in this country. Life without possibility of parole is worse than death for the truly guilty but ensures that someone wrongfully convicted might possibly be set free if further evidence comes to light after a conviction.
I'm sorry I know these people, and even though I haven't spoken to them in over 10 years, I believe they are 100% Guilty!!!
They are nothing but liars and they have always been the type of people to point the finger at someone else rather then take the blame themselves. I have no doubt that they said whatever they could to this Dr so they would be approved for Social Security disability benefits. This is how they were feeding their family. Both of them refused to get jobs because they claimed they weren't mentally stable enough, so they lived on the states dime.
The fact that people told Carolyn that her daughter was like a floppy doll at school and she did nothing about it. Along with the fact her brother begged both the Riley's to take Rebecca to the hospital and they didn't, just goes to prove that their "theory" of her being a caring mother is the biggest lie of all! If that were my child nothing would have stopped me from taking her to the hospital to be checked in both situations. She should still be in jail with her husband. But once this case goes to jail I'm sure she'll be back there for a very long time.
Not one of the previous posters backed up their clueless comments about medications or bipolar with any documentation of fact, nor did any of them claim to have any education or knowledge about what they are stating. We can all agree that it's incredibly sad that this child died, and we can all agree that the incidence of abusive parenting is astonishing. I appreciate that the court believes it has sufficient evidence to try the parents for first degree murder, and I hope justice will be served. "Those kinds of drugs" are prescribed for children all the time. There's nothing unusual about them. I know this from reading about it. There is a growing body of evidence that bipolar can be diagnosed in young children. I know this from reading about it. I'm raising a mentally ill child whom I adopted from DSS as a single dad. He has been on a variety of medications. I choose his doctors very carefully, I listen closely and ask lots of questions. I observe carefully to determine if any medication is working for it's intended purpose. I chart everything he says and does and every move he makes and I bring that information with me to every doctor appointment. I challenge the doctor to justify everything that is prescribed. But I am not afraid of medication - I don't make things up in my mind based on silly comments like those posted here. If the medication relieves some of my son's pain and anguish without causing new and different pain and anguish, I see that as good.
The issue here is that there is evidence that the parents intentionally overdosed their daughter with prescribed medication. Now let's watch, without histrionics, to see what the justice system determines.
there is no easy life in prison. trust me. they wont have a good time at all.
they will be miserable. local prison populations dont like people who hurt children. its rather taboo
This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.
INside Boston.com
possible acquisitions
at Westminster show
LOCAL BLOGS
Universal Hub
The Chinatown Blog
CommonWealth Magazine
Red Mass Group
Blue Mass Group
Boston 1775
The Berkeley Beacon
The Daily Collegian
The Daily Free Press
The Harvard Crimson
The Heights
The Huntington News
The Suffolk Journal
The Tech
The Tufts Daily