The guardians of a hyperactive six-year-old boy in South Carolina administered Benadryl, resulting in the child’s untimely death the following day. Five months after the boy’s death, the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office arrested two individuals as a result of an investigation.
The suspects, Sarah Stewart, age 32, and Christopher Stewart, age 48, were the boy’s guardians. When interviewed, they confessed to the crime, with Sarah Stewart claiming she gave the boy the fatal dose because he was hyperactive.
Court records indicate that the boy’s biological mother appointed Christopher Stewart as guardian while she was serving time in a federal prison in West Virginia.
On October 30, paramedics were dispatched to a home in Greer, South Carolina, where six-year-old Aydon Quinn was reported to be unresponsive. According to his guardians, he suffered a seizure after hitting his head after falling from a recliner.
Soon after, deputies arrived to assist the paramedics, who informed them that the boy’s condition was grave and transported him to a hospital, where he died later that day.
A search of the residence by deputies revealed that the boy was living in filthy conditions, and a subsequent investigation revealed that the Department of Social Services had previously received reports of child abuse.
According to reports, the dose of Benadryl administered to the 45-pound boy was sufficient to kill an adult and approximately four times the lethal dose for children. Coroner Rusty Clevenger expressed his astonishment at the results and stated that he had never seen anything comparable. The autopsy also revealed various bruises on the boy’s body.
Christopher Stewart is charged with unlawful child neglect while Sarah Stewart is charged with homicide by child abuse and unlawful child neglect. On Friday morning, they appeared in court, where Mrs. Stewart was denied bond. Mr. Stewart was given a bond of $10,000. Their next court date is scheduled for May.
