Samantha Reid, a first-year high school student, was one of three teenage girls secretly drugged at a party Jan. 16 on Grosse Ile, an affluent island community in the Detroit River, according to prosecutors.
Police said Samantha's Mountain Dew was spiked with either GHB or GBL, drugs that can render victims helpless. She died the next day at a hospital. One of the other girls also required hospital treatment.
Charged yesterday with manslaughter and poisoning were Erick Limmer, 25; Joshua Cole, 18; Daniel Brayman, 18; and Nicholas Holtschlag, 17.
Poisoning carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Manslaughter is punishable by up to 15 years behind bars.
The party was held at Limmer's apartment.
The victim's mother, Judi Clark, sobbed uncontrollably as the judge set bail for the defendants at $80,000 each. She collapsed in a hallway.
GHB and GBL are powerful central nervous system depressants.
The Drug Enforcement Administration has said GHB is linked to 32 deaths and 3,500 overdoses nationally since 1990. In 1990 the Food and Drug Administration banned GHB, a synthetic drug, amid concerns about its use as a dietary supplement.
As for GBL, the FDA has warned the public against swallowing it. Some claim GBL can build muscle, enhance sexual performance and reduce stress. Police say it is increasingly being used in sexual assaults.
03-17-99
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