Jim V.
WEST CARTHAGE — State police are investigating the death of a 15-year-old boy at a friend’s residence at 4001 Deer River Road.
According to a news release, troopers arrested Brenda Roth, 47, of 4001 Deer River Road, on one count of second-degree manslaughter, five counts of endangering the welfare of a child and one count of tampering with evidence.
Ms. Roth is accused of failing to provide life-saving measures to the teenager when he became unresponsive after ingesting prescription and over-the-counter medicine at her residence, the release stated.
Ms. Roth was also charged with five counts of endangering the welfare of a child for allegedly allowing the drug to be used by five teenagers at the residence and one count of tampering with physical evidence items at her residence.
She was arraigned and remanded to the Lewis County jail, Lowville, on $20,000 cash bail or $40,000 bond.
The dead boy was a student at Carthage Central School. District Superintendent Peter J. Turner said Monday morning that, “school counselors will be available to provide support to students when they return” from the holiday break next Monday.
According to several Facebook pages, Carthage students were mourning the sudden loss of a freshman, Derek Holton.
State police were assisted in their investigation by the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office and the Lewis County District Attorney’s Office.
According to Times’s records, Ms. Roth was charged in February 2009 with 24 counts of unlawfully dealing with a child and seven counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Police charged her in connection with a gathering of young people in her home the night of Oct. 27, 2008, when she allegedly provided beer and marijuana to the visitors and allowed them to use the drugs. Included in the counts were allegations that she allowed a child to sell prescription drugs and permitted one of her children to miss more than 35 days of school, police said at the time of her arrest.
Disposition of those charges in Carthage Village Court was not immediately available.
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