Halloween Disaster - Case Studies of Drugs and Poisons Handed Out To Children

When it is almost halloween season, you would hear in the television and in Newspaper headlines, warnings that parents should be careful about the candies their children collect from neighbors so they do not get exposed to drugs.

In 2022, the Drug Enforcement Agency warned about Rainbow fentanyl and they mentioned that its colorful look and package is used to lure youngsters and children to have a taste of it thereby introducing them to this destructive drug. While this warning is very sound, this isn't the first time that children would be deceived to receiving drugs in the form of candy or sweet.

On October 31st 1959 in Fremont California, children went from door to door to get candy from their neighbors via trick-or-treat and this was just like every normal halloween they had experienced but when they returned home, their parent noticed a little heart shaped while pill coated in sugar among their children's candy. Some of the parent took it off and destroyed it because they didn't trust how it looked. They began to look into who gave the children the pill and realized that it came from the home of one of their neighbors Dr. William Vincent Shyne who was a dentist.

The parents called the police and about 16 complaints were filed against the Doctor but the doctor denied any involvement and since the pills were not consumed, there was no way to determine the effect based on look. The police took the pills to the laboratory for some analysis and they found out that it wasn't candy but aloe vera pills, which were laxatives before they were banned by the FDA in 2002.

He was later arrested on November 11 and posted bail but before his arrest the police also arrested his good friend Hazel Engleby who was a nurse but was released on $1050 bail. They both denied any involvement but on January 23, 1960, William was guilty of Outraging public decency and was sentenced to 6 months in Jail and a $500 fine to be paid but his sentence was later reduced to a 4 month jail term, 2 years probation, and $252 fine.

This event opened the eyes of parents to a possible addition of substances to their children's halloween bags so they were more careful but then another incident happened on the 31st of October 1964 in Long Island, New York. This time around, it involved a 47-year old female named Helen Pfeil who handed out treats to children in the neighborhood. She realized that there were older children who came for trick-or-treat and decided to give them Arsenic Ant Traps. She handed out 19 Arsenic Ant Traps which were labeled poison to the older children along with Metal Mesh Scrubbing pads and Dog Biscuits to the teenagers.

When the police arrived, she and her husband claimed that it was a joke but the police weren't going to take that as an answer and claimed that it was a crime. She was arrested and admitted to a Psychiatric hospital after which she was sentenced to 2 years in prison for Endangering children.

On October 31st, 1974, Timothy O'Bryan an 8 year old child went out for trick-or-treat along with his sister and friend. They got a lot of candy, and came home to enjoy them as every other children did. Timothy ate one the Pixy Stix candy in his bag and immediately fell ill before he passed. Investigation later showed that the Pixy Stix candy had been opened, refilled with poison and sealed back and that was what the child consumed.

Investigation showed that his father Ronald Clark O'Bryan was the culprit who poisoned the Pixy Stix candy his son was having. He had filled the candy with potassium cyanide and he did so with the aim to kill all his children and collect their life insurance policies so as to be able to pay back a debt of about $100,000 as well as living a comfortable life.He was arrested on November 5, 1974 and sentenced to death on June 3, 1975 and he passed away by lethal injection on March 31st 1984.

With this cases of poisoning and drugs in children's candy including Opioids and Fentanyl, it is clear why the DEA continuously warns about any form of drug or poison that could be disguised as candy for children especially during Halloween. It is important to carefully observe what your children eat or lick so they do not end up consuming an overdose of a drug or consume poison which can lead to severe damage or death.