16-Month-Old Child Dies From High Dose Of Allergy Medicine, Mother Charged
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MONESSESEN, Pa. (KDKA/AP) - Police say a Pennsylvania mother gave her 16-month-old daughter a fatal dose of allergy medicine.
Police in Monessen say 30-year-old Ashley Gallatin has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the December death of one of her twin daughters.
"Astonished, floored, I couldn't believe it happened this close to my house," one neighbor said.
According to an affidavit, police came to Gallatin's home about 25 miles south of Pittsburgh and found her husband on the porch, holding the baby. Police say the baby was "cold to the touch with no pulse." She was pronounced dead at the Mon Valley Hospital.
The mother told police the babies were sick and she tried to give the child medicine "which she believed to be Tylenol."
A toxicology report revealed that the child died from a high dose of diphenhydramine, an ingredient in antihistamines like Benadryl.
When authorities raided the home they found 13 bottles of over the counter medications.
No attorney is listed in court documents.
The father of the child was not charged in the case, he was reportedly at work at the time of the incident.
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