Allegheny County rules infant's death by drugs a homicide
Police are investigating how a toxic mix of antidepressants and a pill used to treat high blood pressure killed a nine-month-old infant this spring, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said Friday.
Lena Bedri died early on April 27 at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh due to the combination of the antidepressants Celexa and Lexapro, and the drug Verapamil, which treats cardiovascular issues, the medical examiner said.
The girl died at 3:54 a.m. at the Lawrenceville hospital, an hour after an incident on the 200 block of Cobblestone Drive in Ohio Township, officials said. Her death was ruled a homicide on Friday.
The medical examiner’s office listed Lena’s home as Ohio but did not elaborate. A spokeswoman did not respond Friday to an email seeking comment.
Allegheny County Police is actively investigating the girl’s death, spokesman Jim Madalinsky told TribLive Friday morning.
“We are aware of the medical examiner’s determination in this incident,” Madalinsky said. “We do not have any additional information to share at this time.”
Justin Vellucci is a TribLive reporter covering crime and public safety in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. A longtime freelance journalist and former reporter for the Asbury Park (N.J.) Press, he worked as a general assignment reporter at the Trib from 2006 to 2009 and returned in 2022. He can be reached at jvellucci@triblive.com.
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