Parents of fatally overdosed daughter ask for bail

HINGHAM, Mass. --A mother charged with fatally overdosing her 4-year-old daughter did "everything she could" to care for the girl, including giving her only the prescribed number of pills, the woman's lawyer said Tuesday.

Prosecutors allege that Carolyn and Michael Riley of Hull intentionally overmedicated their daughter, Rebecca. The Rileys are charged with murder in the girl's Dec. 13 death.

"There is no evidence that Carolyn Riley in any way committed a criminal offense," her attorney, Michael Bourbeau, said in Hingham District Court during a pretrial hearing Tuesday.

"Carolyn Riley has done everything she could as a mother to take care of her child. She relied on the doctor," Bourbeau said.

Lawyers for both Carolyn and Michael Riley asked Judge Patrick Hurley to release them while they await trial. They are currently being held without bail. Hurley did not immediately rule on the request. He scheduled a probable cause hearing for March 26.

Carolyn Riley told police that her psychiatrist, Dr. Kayoko Kifuji, diagnosed Rebecca with bipolar disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder when she was 2 1/2. The girl was taking Clonidine, a blood pressure medication, for ADHD, as well as other prescription medications for bipolar disorder.

Bourbeau said that even though police claim Carolyn Riley frequently sought and received extra Clonidine pills for Rebecca, she gave her daughter only the amount prescribed by Kifuji.

Carolyn Riley received 530 Clonidine pills between Aug. 16 and Dec. 13, the day Rebecca died, Bourbeau said. He said that means that on average Carolyn Riley gave Rebecca just over four Clonidine pills per day -- the amount Carolyn Riley said was authorized by Kifuji.

But Assistant District Attorney Frank Middleton said Kifuji prescribed 3.5 pills per day. He said Carolyn Riley received 94 more Clonidine pills than she was supposed to during that four-month period. State police investigators allege in an arrest affidavit that Carolyn Riley was able to get additional pills by making various excuses, including that she lost a bottle of pills and ruined another bottle with water.

Middleton said that his review of the full year before Rebecca's death showed that Carolyn Riley received approximately 200 more Clonidine pills than what was prescribed by Kifuji.

"That's abuse of the medication by this defendant," he said. "They were abusing this medication at every turn."

Prosecutors have called the girl's death an "intentional overdose," but have declined to publicly discuss a motive. According to a state police investigator's report, witnesses told police the Rileys gave their daughter large doses of powerful prescription drugs to keep her quiet and sleeping for long periods of time.

Lawyers for both Carolyn and Michael Riley questioned the dosage and types of medication Kifuji prescribed for Rebecca and said the effects of the powerful prescription drugs on the girl should have been monitored more closely.

"The error here is Dr. Kifuji's. The problem with this case is with the medicines she prescribed," said John Darrell, Michael Riley's attorney.

Rebecca was found dead on the floor of her parents' bedroom in Hull. A medical examiner ruled she died of intoxication due to the combined effects of several drugs, including: Clonidine; Depakote, an antiseizure medication used to treat bipolar illness; cough suppressant and antihistamine. The autopsy found the amount of Clonidine alone in Rebecca's system was fatal.

After the Rileys were charged, Kifuji agreed to stop practicing medicine until the state Board of Registration in Medicine completes an investigation. Her attorney has said she did nothing wrong and did not overprescribe medication for Rebecca.

Carolyn Riley told police that Kifuji told her she could give Rebecca an extra half-tablet of Clonidine at night. But Kifuji vehemently denied that when questioned by police. She said that when Carolyn Riley told her last fall that she had increased Rebecca's dose by a half-tablet, she warned Carolyn that the higher dose could kill Rebecca by lowering her blood pressure to the point of death.