Add another grisly killing to the long list of sudden, violent crimes committed by individuals with a history of taking psychiatric drugs.
Edward Romero, 27, is charged with killing a 16-year-old girl as she walked home from a party, after which he cut up her body and packed it away in a container in his garage. He recently pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to a charge of first-degree murder in Denver District Court. According to the Denver Post, a judge had earlier ordered Romero to keep taking psychiatric medication.
While we don’t know the details of those psychiatric drugs, we do know that the current, rising wave of violence that is rocking our homes, schools, and communities parallels the soaring use of psychiatric drugs in American society.
Research studies, international regulatory authority warnings, and reports to the FDA, have linked the use of, and/or the too-rapid withdrawal from, numerous psychiatric drugs to violent behavior, including homicide.
High-profile Colorado killings with links to psychiatric drugs include Stephanie Rochester smothering her 6-month-old son in Superior in 2010. She has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. She reportedly was taking the antidepressant Zoloft at the time, and had intended to take her own life.
Rebekah Amaya, of Lamar, was also reportedly on antidepressants when she drowned her 4-year-old daughter and 6-month-old son in 2003. She was found not guilty by reason of insanity in 2004.
Of course, the granddaddy of Colorado psychiatric drug-related violence is the deadly assault on Columbine High School in 1999. Shooter Eric Harris was taking the antidepressant Luvox at the time he and Dylan Klebold opened fire at Columbine High School, killing 12 students and a teacher and wounding 26 others before killing themselves. Harris reportedly became obsessed with homicidal and suicidal thoughts within weeks of starting to take antidepressants. (See “The Real Lesson of Columbine: Psychiatric Drugs Induce Violence.”)
At least one public report exists from a friend of Klebold, who says she witnessed him taking the antidepressants Paxil and Zoloft and urged him to come off the drugs. Officially, Klebold’s medical records remain sealed.
Both the U.S. FDA and Health Canada have issued warnings that many antidepressants are linked to a greater risk of suicide, aggression and violence.
CCHR International’s documentary DVD, “Psychiatry’s Prescription for Violence,” containing interviews with experts, parents, victims, and a killer himself, can be viewed online by clicking here.
If you or someone you know has had suicidal or homicidal thoughts or committed sudden violent acts while taking or in withdrawal from psychiatric drugs, you can contact us privately by clicking here or by calling 303-789-5225. All information will be kept in the strictest confidence. We welcome your comments on this article below.
