Thomas Michael Boettger Jr..........found dead

Thomas Michael Boettger Jr..........found dead

Parents of baby arrested
Couple charged after giving baby lethal dose of medicine

By VANESSA HO AND BRAD WONG
P-I REPORTERS

Soon after their baby died, Lorrie Peck and Thomas Boettger created a caring Web site to help parents who've lost a baby to SIDS. They offered inspirational writings and links to support groups. They presented their services to create a tender, yearlong "tribute page" for grieving parents, for a suggested donation of $100.

They wrote of their own anguish, of finding 6-month-old Thomas Michael Boettger Jr. -- or "Boo-Boo Man" as they called their son -- still and blue in his crib last October.


Thomas Michael Boettger Jr.
"The unanswered questions that SIDS leaves behind are difficult in their own," the couple wrote on their Web site.

Except that baby Thomas did not die of SIDS, or sudden infant death syndrome, according to a San Diego County medical examiner. He died of an overdose of two kinds of sedatives given to him by his father, the examiner said.

Seattle police arrested the couple on a fugitive warrant earlier this week, after prosecutors in San Diego charged them with felony child abuse. Peck and Boettger, who are both 38 and last lived in Shelton, pleaded not guilty Thursday to the fugitive charge.

According to a police document filed in San Diego, where Thomas Jr. died, the couple told police their son had colic and acid reflux and that they often medicated him with Mylanta and Sominex, which they crushed and mixed in water.

On the morning Thomas Jr. died, the couple was staying at a relative's house in San Diego, when the baby woke up crying "heavily." Boettger told police two versions of giving his son over-the-counter adult medications.

He first said he gave his son Zantac, commonly used for ulcers and acid reflux, and a half-tablet of Sominex, a sleep aid. He later told police he gave his son half-pills each of Unisom, Zantac and Benadryl in syringes and bottles.

After administering the medications, Boettger laid his son in his crib. About two hours later, Peck, thinking the room sounded too quiet, found him dead. The San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office ruled out SIDS as a cause of death.

Peck later told police that she and Boettger took turns medicating their son, and that she had researched the drugs on the Internet to "learn" how to administer them.

When he died, the baby was extremely small for his age. Thomas Jr. had also never received an immunization shot, had bruises on his right arm, and had seen a doctor just once.

As police investigated the couple, they began preparing to flee, according to the court document. They asked a neighbor in Shelton to watch their cat, saying they were going to Mexico or Canada. They told people they were running from police.

When Seattle officers arrested them Monday, just outside Northgate Mall, they found handcuffs and a loaded 9 mm pistol on Boettger.

"They were panicking, (thinking) this could have been misconstrued," said Jack Miles, a port commissioner in Shelton and a friend of the couple. He said they had told him about how they had medicated their son, and that they believed they had done nothing wrong.

"They didn't mean to overmedicate their child, if that's what it was. They're very sorry for what happened," Miles said. "They're wonderful people. Why would they want to kill their son?"

He said the couple had struggled mightily with Thomas Jr.'s death. At church, Peck, whom he said was a midwife, had sobbed at the sound of a baby's cry and the pastor's announcement of recent births.

Miles said Boettger had bawled to him, "I want my son back, I want my son back."

Extradition to San Diego could take a few months. The couple are being held in the King County Jail, each on $1 million bail.


A LETHAL DOSE
Toxicology report: Six-month-old Thomas Michael Boettger Jr. suffered a fatal dose of two sedatives -- Unisom and Benadryl or Sominex. He also was given Zantac.

Official cause of death: Acute doxylamine and diphenhydramine intoxication.

Parents of baby arrested
Couple charged after giving baby lethal dose of medicine

By VANESSA HO AND BRAD WONG
P-I REPORTERS

Soon after their baby died, Lorrie Peck and Thomas Boettger created a caring Web site to help parents who've lost a baby to SIDS. They offered inspirational writings and links to support groups. They presented their services to create a tender, yearlong "tribute page" for grieving parents, for a suggested donation of $100.

They wrote of their own anguish, of finding 6-month-old Thomas Michael Boettger Jr. -- or "Boo-Boo Man" as they called their son -- still and blue in his crib last October.


Thomas Michael Boettger Jr.
"The unanswered questions that SIDS leaves behind are difficult in their own," the couple wrote on their Web site.

Except that baby Thomas did not die of SIDS, or sudden infant death syndrome, according to a San Diego County medical examiner. He died of an overdose of two kinds of sedatives given to him by his father, the examiner said.

Seattle police arrested the couple on a fugitive warrant earlier this week, after prosecutors in San Diego charged them with felony child abuse. Peck and Boettger, who are both 38 and last lived in Shelton, pleaded not guilty Thursday to the fugitive charge.

According to a police document filed in San Diego, where Thomas Jr. died, the couple told police their son had colic and acid reflux and that they often medicated him with Mylanta and Sominex, which they crushed and mixed in water.

On the morning Thomas Jr. died, the couple was staying at a relative's house in San Diego, when the baby woke up crying "heavily." Boettger told police two versions of giving his son over-the-counter adult medications.

He first said he gave his son Zantac, commonly used for ulcers and acid reflux, and a half-tablet of Sominex, a sleep aid. He later told police he gave his son half-pills each of Unisom, Zantac and Benadryl in syringes and bottles.

After administering the medications, Boettger laid his son in his crib. About two hours later, Peck, thinking the room sounded too quiet, found him dead. The San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office ruled out SIDS as a cause of death.

Peck later told police that she and Boettger took turns medicating their son, and that she had researched the drugs on the Internet to "learn" how to administer them.

When he died, the baby was extremely small for his age. Thomas Jr. had also never received an immunization shot, had bruises on his right arm, and had seen a doctor just once.

As police investigated the couple, they began preparing to flee, according to the court document. They asked a neighbor in Shelton to watch their cat, saying they were going to Mexico or Canada. They told people they were running from police.

When Seattle officers arrested them Monday, just outside Northgate Mall, they found handcuffs and a loaded 9 mm pistol on Boettger.

"They were panicking, (thinking) this could have been misconstrued," said Jack Miles, a port commissioner in Shelton and a friend of the couple. He said they had told him about how they had medicated their son, and that they believed they had done nothing wrong.

"They didn't mean to overmedicate their child, if that's what it was. They're very sorry for what happened," Miles said. "They're wonderful people. Why would they want to kill their son?"

He said the couple had struggled mightily with Thomas Jr.'s death. At church, Peck, whom he said was a midwife, had sobbed at the sound of a baby's cry and the pastor's announcement of recent births.

Miles said Boettger had bawled to him, "I want my son back, I want my son back."

Extradition to San Diego could take a few months. The couple are being held in the King County Jail, each on $1 million bail.


A LETHAL DOSE
Toxicology report: Six-month-old Thomas Michael Boettger Jr. suffered a fatal dose of two sedatives -- Unisom and Benadryl or Sominex. He also was given Zantac.

Official cause of death: Acute doxylamine and diphenhydramine intoxication.[/quote]

Couple face charges in 6-month-old son's death
After their 6-month-old son died suddenly in San Diego, a Mason County couple created an organization to offer support to parents who have...

By Natalie Singer

Seattle Times staff reporter

After their 6-month-old son died suddenly in San Diego, a Mason County couple created an organization to offer support to parents who have lost a child to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. On their Web site, the couple pay tribute to Thomas, who died on a family trip in October.

But now the Shelton couple have been charged in the boy's death, which was ruled a homicide by a San Diego County medical examiner who found the child was overdosed with adult medication.

Thomas Michael Boettger, 38, and Lorrie Jean Boettger, 38, have each been charged in San Diego County with one count of child abuse. The couple were arrested Monday in Seattle and are being held in King County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail each, pending extradition.

The parents could each face 12 years in prison if convicted of the charge, which includes a special allegation of child abuse likely to produce great bodily injury, said Steve Walker, spokesman for the San Diego County District Attorney's Office.

The Oct. 25, 2006, death of Thomas Boettger Jr. was due to intoxication of doxylamine and diphenhydramine — antihistamine and sleeping medications — the San Diego County medical examiner stated in a January report. Bruises were also found on the baby's arm, according to the report.

The death of the boy has been well-publicized on several Web sites, including one created by his parents — www.tlclimited.com, which is dedicated to babies who have died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, defined as the unexplained, sudden death of an infant under 1 year old.

The Boettgers were visiting San Diego County with their son and 10-year-old daughter at the time of the boy's death, according to San Diego police. According to charging papers, the Boettgers had gone to Disneyland and then on to stay with a niece in San Diego. Just after 7 a.m. Oct. 25, the niece called 911 and said the baby was not breathing, the police report states.

Police said the Boettgers had diagnosed Thomas Jr. with acid reflux and colic and treated the boy with adult over-the-counter sleeping medications, according to the report. In the few days before the boy's death, Thomas Boettger had given the baby four to six tablets of sleeping medication crushed together and administered orally by syringe, according to the report.

Lorrie Boettger had learned how to administer the drugs on the Internet, the report states.

On the morning of the boy's death, the baby awoke crying and Thomas Boettger orally administered some or all of the following medications: Unisom, Zantac, Benadryl and Sominex in syringes and bottles before placing the child in his travel crib face-up, the report states.

After the medical examiner ruled the death a homicide this year, San Diego police detectives attempted to contact the Boettgers, who had returned to Washington state, but could not find them, the report states. A warrant was issued for their arrest.

Seattle police arrested the couple Monday evening in a Northgate parking lot. During a search, a loaded pistol and a pair of handcuffs were found on Thomas Boettger, according to the Seattle police report.



The couple have not yet agreed to be extradited. Taking them to California without their consent to face charges there could take up to 90 days, Walker said.

They appeared before a King County judge in jail on Thursday and pleaded not guilty to being fugitives, the local charge used to arrest them.

Friends and family members of the Boettgers could not be reached Friday. An online memorial to the boy describes the family's trip to California and says simply of the morning of his death: "Our beautiful boy was blue and still."

Another post, dated Jan. 29 and signed "Mommy," says: "I miss you more than ever, and I love you Baby Thomas. I love you so much."

Times news researcher Miyoko Wolf contributed to this report. Natalie Singer: 206-464-2704 or nsinger@seattletimes.com

Parents to be tried in death of infant son




Baby was given adult medications
By Dana Littlefield
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

September 14, 2007

DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO – While visiting relatives in San Diego last year, a Washington couple woke one morning and discovered their baby boy's limbs had turned blue.
He had stopped breathing.

Police officers were called to a Talmadge apartment, where they found the child on the floor. The boy's father was kneeling over the infant, police said, trying to revive him.

Despite the father's efforts, 6-month-old Thomas Boettger Jr. died Oct. 25, 2006. Medical experts determined that the boy had suffered acute intoxication from over-the-counter medications, an antihistamine and a sleeping aid.

Now the child's parents, Lorrie Jean Boettger, 38, and Thomas Michael Boettger Sr., 39, face charges of murder and child abuse. The couple were arrested in Shelton, Wash., and extradited to San Diego in March.

At the end of a four-day hearing in San Diego Superior Court, Judge Roger Krauel determined yesterday that prosecutors presented enough evidence for the Boettgers to stand trial. If convicted, they could receive a sentence of 15 years to life in prison.

According to testimony at the hearing, Thomas Boettger told a police officer that he had given the baby medication the night before because he was fussy.

“He told me that the baby had been colicky and not sleeping well,” Officer Christopher Luth testified, adding that Boettger said the baby suffered from acid reflux.

“He had told me that he had crushed the pills up and given them to the baby orally,” Luth said.

Investigators found packets of diphenhydramine and doxylamine – known by the brand names Benadryl and Unisom – in the bathroom of the apartment. A baby bottle and a syringe were found in a nearby bedroom where paramedics had tended to the baby.

Lorrie Boettger told an investigator in a telephone interview that she and her husband had given over-the-counter medications to their baby regularly to help him sleep, according to testimony from a San Diego police detective.

Deputy District Attorney Matthew Greco said the Boettgers may not have intended to kill their son but showed a “conscious disregard for human life” by giving him adult medications when they knew the potential danger.

Greco noted that the couple had experience in health-related fields. Thomas Boettger worked as a volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician, and Lorrie Boettger worked as a midwife.

“Here we have two people who are involved intimately in the preservation of life,” the prosecutor said.

Defense lawyers argued there is little evidence, if any, that the couple committed a crime.

Merle Schneidewind, who represents Thomas Boettger, contended that it's still unclear whether the medications caused the child's death. He said medical experts don't know whether the drugs found in the baby's blood reached toxic levels.

Defense lawyer Elizabeth Comeau, who is representing Lorrie Boettger, said the Boettgers had researched the drugs on the Internet and reduced the dosages by cutting pills in half and diluting them with water.

“There is no conscious disregard by them actually taking the time to reduce the level,” Comeau said.

Lorrie and Thomas Boettger Murder Sixth-Month-Old Son with OTC Meds
Joel
While visiting relatives in San Diego, Lorrie Jean Boettger, 38, and Thomas Michael Boettger Sr., 39, woke up and found their baby dying. Six-month-old Thomas Boettger Jr. limbs had turned blue and stopped breathing.

Medical experts found the boy had suffered acute intoxication from an antihistamine and a sleeping aid that his parents had given him because he was “fussy.” They had crushed up Benadryl and Unisom tablets and given them to the baby.

The Boettgers have been extradited from Washington state to San Diego and will stand trial for child abuse and murder. If convicted, they could get 15 years to life in prison.

Now you must be thinking, “Boy these parents are just stupid. They didn’t mean to hurt their child.” I’m not so sure since both had medical backgrounds. Thomas worked as an EMT and Lorrie was a midwife.

Lorrie told police that her husband had given the baby meds regularly to get him to go to sleep. Sounds like he couldn’t be bothered with a fussy baby.