Court filings say an Oregon dad was charged with various counts for poisoning smoothies with sedatives and providing them to his daughter's pre-teen friends.
Court filings and a probable cause affidavit filed this week in Clackamas County say that Michael Meyden, 57, of Lake Oswego, drugged three of his daughter's friends while they slept over on Aug. 25, 2023.
The 12-year-old girls were hospitalized and tested positive for benzodiazepine, a medicine used to treat anxiety. Valium, Xanax, and Klonopin are prominent brands. According to the affidavit, benzodiazepines are depressants that cause sleepiness and relaxation.
A Lake Oswego police investigator wrote the affidavit, which did not explain why Meyden fed the youngsters tainted smoothies. Court records show that Meyden is charged with three felonies of causing another person to ingest a controlled substance, three felonies of applying a schedule IV controlled substance to a minor, and three misdemeanors of delivering one to a minor.
After a grand jury indictment, his attorney, Mark Cogan, said his client turned himself in to the Clackamas County Jail Tuesday. At his Wednesday arraignment, he denied wrongdoing. Meyden secured $50,000 bail, Cogan said. “Mr. Meyden is presumed innocent,” Cogan said Friday afternoon via phone. Not seen the evidence. A grand jury issued the indictment without a judge or defense attorney. We hope people will wait until all the facts are revealed before judging.”
According to the affidavit, Meyden took the girls to get their nails done and picked up pizza for dinner the night of the overnight. The girls spent much of their time in the basement having a "spa night," the affidavit alleged.
One female drank two cups, another one, and a third stated she didn't enjoy our smoothies and barely drank any. The affidavit said one female informed officers Meyden's daughter consumed a lot of smoothies. The affidavit states that two females slept on a basement pull-out couch and two in a bedroom. The third girl, who didn't consume much smoothie, said Meyden came downstairs several times. The document indicated she was sleeping with another girl and Meyden tried to physically separate them.
The girl was found by a family friend, who took her home. Two parents went to Mayden's house to get the other two girls, but Meyden refused to let them go, the affidavit said. A teenager told officers she drank two smoothies and felt queasy, overheated, and clumsy after the second. The affidavit said she “blacked out” and fell into a “thick, deep sleep” she had never experienced.
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