Connecticut stepfather charged with sex assault as probe into girl's Benadryl death widens
ENFIELD, Conn., July 9. A Connecticut investigation into the death of 12-year-old Eve Rogers has expanded to include social media accounts and pharmacy records, after toxicology testing found a lethal dosage of diphenhydramine in her blood, recorded at 23,000 ng/ml. Anthony Federline, 39, her stepfather, was charged in April with first-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor, the Enfield Police Department said.
ENFIELD, Conn., July 9. A Connecticut investigation into the death of 12-year-old Eve Rogers has expanded to include social media accounts and pharmacy records, after toxicology testing found a lethal dosage of diphenhydramine in her blood, recorded at 23,000 ng/ml. Anthony Federline, 39, her stepfather, was charged in April with first-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor, the Enfield Police Department said.
New search warrants cover online accounts and pharmacy history
Court documents show investigators are seeking access to Federline's Facebook and Snapchat accounts, the family's CVS Caremark account, and two Amazon accounts, according to WFLA. The warrants target Federline's digital activity for the months leading up to Rogers' death.
The documented lethal diphenhydramine concentration is 4,390 ng/ml for children and 14,720 ng/ml for adults. Rogers' blood tested at 23,000 ng/ml. The medical examiner told police she would have had to ingest about 1.8 liters of liquid diphenhydramine to reach that level. How she ingested that amount remains unclear, investigators said.
Fluoxetine, the compound marketed as Prozac, was also detected in her system. It had not been prescribed to her, search warrants state.
The scene on March 18
Rogers' mother found her on her bedroom floor on March 18, partially unclothed with a blanket over her lower body, court documents state. Blood and fluids were running from her nose. A sexual assault kit was completed before autopsy, and Federline was identified as one of the contributors from a DNA swab, according to an arrest warrant cited by WFLA. No charges have been filed in connection with Rogers' death.
Amazon purchases and internet activity under scrutiny
Rogers' mother told detectives she used an Amazon account to buy Sleep Aid capsules and medication for her daughter, WFLA reported. She also purchased a sexual pleasure device for Rogers through the same account. Investigators found no dyes in Rogers' system to indicate she had ingested the Sleep Aid capsules, despite the recorded diphenhydramine level.
Her mother also told police she had discovered inappropriate online conversations between Rogers and unknown people. Investigators said they were unable to locate those exchanges in their searches.
Federline told detectives he used Facebook and Snapchat to communicate with his stepdaughter and that those conversations were not sexual. He has pleaded not guilty to the sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor charges and is due back in court later this month.