A hyperactive six-year-old boy in South Carolina was given Benadryl by his guardians, causing his untimely death the next day. The Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office immediately launched an investigation of the incident that led to the arrest of two people five months after the boy’s death.

The suspects, 32-year-old Sarah Stewart and 48-year-old Christopher Stewart, were the boy’s guardians. They admitted to the crime when they were interviewed, with Sarah Stewart saying she had given the boy the lethal dose because he was hyperactive.

Court records show that the boy’s biological mother had given Christopher Stewart guardian status while she was serving time in a West Virginia federal prison.

On October 30, paramedics were called in to treat six-year-old Aydon Quinn, who was reported to be unresponsive at a house in Greer, South Carolina. According to his guardians, he had hit his head after falling from a recliner and had suffered a seizure.

Deputies arrived soon after to assist the paramedics, who told them the boy’s condition was grim and took him to a hospital, where he passed away later that day. 

A search of the house by deputies revealed that the boy had been living in filthy conditions and the subsequent investigation also found that abuse referrals had been made before to the Department of Social Services.

According to reports, the amount of Benadryl given to the 45-pound boy was enough to kill a grown man and around four times the deadly amount for children. Coroner Rusty Clevenger shared his shock at the amount that the results showed and said he had never seen anything like it. The autopsy also found bruises in different stages of healing on the boy’s body.

Sarah Stewart is charged with homicide by child abuse as well as unlawful child neglect, and Christopher Stewart is charged with unlawful neglect of a child. They appeared in court on Friday morning and Mrs. Stewart was denied bond. Mr. Stewart was given a $10,000 bond. Their next court appearance will be in May.