Death by Drug Cocktail Demands Criminal Charges for Prescribers

September 27, 2024

28-year-old Natalie A. Bartock of Butler Pennsylvania died from toxicity from a cocktail of prescribed psychiatric drugs. Bartock’s doctor who prescribed the deadly cocktail of drugs and the pharmacy that filled the prescriptions have settled a civil suit with the decedent’s estate. Having those responsible pay through the nose is great, but the real question is why wasn’t the doctor and pharmacist criminally charged for Bartock’s death?

But before unveiling the death-inducing cocktail of prescribed psychiatric drugs that was provided to Bartock over a two-year period, it seems appropriate to reflect on the criminal charges that women receive when murderous crimes are committed while taking these deadly cocktails, while those prescribing walk free.

First, it’s difficult to forget the heartbreaking 2001 case of Texas mother, Andrea Yates. Yates had been prescribed the following cocktail of psychiatric drugs, Trazodone (antidepressant), Haldol (Antipsychotic) Effexor (Antidepressant) and Wellbutrin (antidepressant).

Yates’ psychiatrist, Mohammed Saeed, prescribed Yates the antidepressant Effexor at 450mg – twice the recommended maximum dose- one month before Yates drowned her five children in the home bathtub. Ironically, Yates had complained of having intense homicidal hallucinations while on the drug and, too late for Yates, in 2005, Wyeth Pharmaceutical added a warning about homicidal ideation associated with Effexor. Furthermore, in 2004 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) added suicidality as a side effect of all antidepressants.

Unfortunately, Yates did not benefit from the FDA’s warnings and was found guilty of the murders and is spending the rest of her life in a psychiatric hospital in Texas. Like Yates, a mother in Massachusetts, Lindsay Clancy, currently is facing criminal charges for killing her three small children and like Yates, was drugged out of her mind.

According to Clancy’s attorney, Kevin J. Reddington, Clancy is not guilty of the criminal charges and places blame directly on the psychiatric mind-altering drug cocktail Clancy had been prescribed in the two months leading to the killings. Clancy had unbelievably been prescribed 13 mind-altering psychiatric drugs between October and January 2022-2023.

Given all that is known about the serious side effects associated with the mind-altering antidepressants, antipsychotics, and other psychiatric drugs, it is unconscionable that Clancy’s psychiatrists have not been charged for the murders. It’s time for those responsible for these horrific crimes to be held responsible. And while it’s unfortunate that in the case in Butler, PA, failed to hold Bartock’s doctor criminally responsible, going after the doctor and pharmacy civilly is a good start.

The following is a list of the drugs Bartock had been prescribed, causing her death of drug toxicity, including oxymorphone, alprazolam, carisoprodol, tramadol and trazodone that she received for 738 days from March 19, 2016, through May 11, 2018.

The mind-altering drugs that Bartock had been prescribed include, 1,320 325-milligram pills of oxycodone/acetaminophen (PAIN), 3,240 50-milligram pills of tramadol (OPIOD Seizures), 1,530 300-milligram pills of gabapentin (Anti-convulsant), 1,620 1-miligram pills of alprazolam (Benzodiazepine – Anti-anxiety), 740 350-milligram pills of carisoprodol (muscle relaxer), 210 100-milligram pills of trazodone (Antidepressant), 180 10-milligram pills of zolpidem (Insomnia), 116 30-milligram pills of duloxetine (SNRI Antidepressant) and 60 5-milligram pills of oxymorphone ER (Opioid). This drug cocktail averages out to 12.2 highly addictive pills per day.

Let’s consider now what Bartock could have mentally and emotionally experienced as known side effects associated with this cocktail of mind-altering drugs. Hypomania, aggression, anger, terminal insomnia, abnormal dreams, agitation, suicidal ideation, hallucinations, depression, behavior changes, psychosis, confusion, depersonalization, disinhibition, inappropriate behavior, and paranoid reaction to name a few.

These side effects are no different than what probably was experienced by Andrea Yates and Lindsay Clancy. But what stands out is the fact that the women carrying out the murderous acts are charged criminally, while the doctors…the medical experts who carelessly prescribed the cocktails of mind-altering drugs never are held responsible for providing what surely could be argued is the weapon used in the crimes…the drug cocktails.

Bartock’s civil suit settlement on behalf of her estate is a good start, but too much information now is known about the serious adverse events associated with prescription psychiatric drugs for those doctors and pharmacists to remain free from responsibility for irresponsible prescribing. Only the possibility of being criminally charged for harmful prescribing will bring an end to out-of-control psychiatric drugging. It’s time.

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