The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office has released the cause and manner of a 16-year-old Gig Harbor boy’s sudden death earlier this year.
While hanging out with friends at a sleepover on Jan. 21 in Tacoma, Adrian Gunter died of an accidental overdose from “acute tramadol and cyclobenzaprine,” according to a news release from the medical examiner.
Tramadol is a narcotic used for pain relief after surgeries and cyclobenzaprine is a muscle relaxant, according to medlineplus.gov and FDA.gov.
Gunter was found unresponsive at the Tacoma home and given CPR by people there, William Muse, a spokesperson for the Tacoma Police Department, previously told the Gateway.
He said Gunter also was given CPR by firefighting personnel when they arrived. He was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The Gateway previously reported that Gunter’s family believed he might have died from smoking marijuana that might have been laced. The other kids at the gathering said they’d been smoking, Gunter’s mother Tessa Gunter previously told the Gateway. The family was waiting for the toxicology report.
Tessa Gunter told the Gateway on Wednesday that she feels more confused now.
Detectives recently told her that the other boys at the sleepover have admitted they got into a medicine cabinet that night, she said.
“Parents need to be careful about what they leave laying around when you have kids over, especially leaving teenagers alone knowing you have those things in your house,” Tessa Gunter told the Gateway.
Police say the case remains open and is still being actively investigated. Investigators have not made a decision about forwarding the case to the prosecutor’s office, Muse said Friday.
“If there is evidence of a crime having been committed, we will forward the case to the Prosecutor’s office for charging review,” Muse said.
Accidental drug overdose deaths in Pierce County are increasing for young people ages 18 to 24, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department website.
“Drug overdose is the leading cause of injury deaths in Pierce County,” Elizabeth Allen, Pierce County’s behavioral health policy coordinator, wrote in a recent blog. “It’s the second leading cause of injury deaths for people 15-24 years old.”