ST. JOHN'S — Police in Newfoundland have charged a 19-year-old with manslaughter in the fatal overdose of a 14-year-old boy.
The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary says the teen was found unresponsive on March 14 at a home in Mount Pearl, N.L., near St. John’s.
A news release says he was pronounced dead after he was rushed to the hospital.
Police say the boy took pills he believed to be Xanax and Dilaudid, but they contained a “deadly concoction of synthetic opioids.”
The force’s major crimes unit seized various substances, including the synthetic opioid phenazolam, from a St. John’s residence in May.
The Constabulary says it arrested a 19-year-old male Thursday on charges including manslaughter, criminal negligence causing death and possession of cocaine, ketamine and phenazolam.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 18, 2025.
The Canadian Press
