The Devastating Story of Rebecca Jeanne Riley's Overmedication Part 2

The school couldn't help but notice the devastating effects of Riley's overmedication. The school nurse observed she was too weak and likened her to a floppy doll in her report. However, they did not observe any behavioral issues that would even support the diagnosis of bipolar disorder or ADHD Dr. Kifuji had given. Some even attested to Riley's good behavior, calling her a "sweet girl".

The sluggishness Riley displayed during school hours prompted the school authorities to contact her caregivers. Her father, Michael showed no interest in her welfare, and while Riley's mother, Carolyn, talked with them on the phone, and came to the school a few times, she was generally indifferent about the welfare of her daughter. The school also noticed that Carolyn spoke in a monotone, and had no expressions on her face, she also appeared very weak. These observations made the school conclude that Carolyn was also taking the same thing Riley was taking.

Despite the efforts the school authorities made to contact Riley's parents, they to file any reports with the Department of Social Services(DSS).

About a month after Riley started attending her new school, Dr. Kifuji changed her prescription from Zyprexa to Seroquel. Seroquel is an antipsychotic drug used for the management of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and severe depression. The drug comes with severe side effects which include but are not limited to fainting, dizziness, abdominal pain, headache, seizures, and constipation.

In May of 2006, Carolynn hired a social worker from the South Bay Mental Health Services to treat her children, Riley and her sister Kaitlynne. The social worker later noted that the children and their mother, Carolynn were frequently asleep, she also discovered that Carolyn didn't care about her children. The observation made the social worker file two reports with the DSS, one for neglect, and the second for physical abuse as Riley's sister stated that Michael was beating her. She also noticed the children had no behavioral issues that correlated with symptoms of ADHD or bipolar disorder.

The social worker also spoke to Dr. Kifuji, she expressed her concerns about the high doses of the antipsychotic medication the children were given. Kifuji told her she was also concerned, but that she had allowed the drugs at such dosage because Carolynn claimed the children's behavior deteriorated in lower dosages.

Carolyn quickly dismissed the social worker after DSS reached out to her in July. She then called Kifuji and urged her to convince DSS that there was no need for an inquiry. The social worker’s two reports were eventually shut down by DSS as baseless.

In August 2006, Carolyn’s half-brother, James McGonnell, joined the family in their Weymouth flat. Around the same time, Carolyn started to seek more clonidine prescriptions from the chemist. She sometimes gave a reason for needing more clonidine (like saying she misplaced the previous prescription or that the pills got wet), but often she did not. By the end of August, Kifuji decided to give the children clonidine for only ten days at a time because of the missing pills.

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It is important to note here that due to prior instances of physical abuse, Michael was given a restriction order, he was not allowed to visit his wife or children without supervision. Contrary to the terms of the restriction order Michael started to see Carolyn and the children around the time the social worker worked in the family, breaking DSS rules. In one of these unsupervised visits in October 2006, Michael choked Riley's other sibling, Gerard, and smashed his head on the back window of his truck. Carolyn then asked for a court order to keep Michael away. That same month, another woman moved into the family's Weymouth flat, Kelly Williams and her young son.

Part 3