February 9, 2010

A Massachusetts woman has been found guilty of second-degree murder in the prescription drug overdose of her 4-year-old daughter.

Carolyn Riley was accused of overmedicating her daughter, Rebecca, on powerful drugs prescribed by a psychiatrist who diagnosed her with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and bipolar disorder by the time she was 3.

Prosecutors said Riley and her husband, Michael, concocted symptoms of mental illness in their daughter in an attempt to collect federal disability benefits.

Defense lawyers said Rebecca died of pneumonia, not a drug overdose.

The case reignited debate in the psychiatric community about whether young children can accurately be diagnosed with bipolar disorder and whether they should be treated with powerful adult drugs.

Jurors reached their verdict Tuesday. Michael Riley faces a separate trial.