Last year, a 17-year-old teenager from Park City, Utah was charged with four counts of drug-related felonies by local law enforcement.
The local teenager was accused of ordering drugs on the dark web and distributing the supply to friends, which led to the death of two adolescent boys.
Meanwhile, fresh details have emerged concerning the case against her.
Through her attorney, Mary Corporon, the Park City High School teen is pursuing a motion to suppress statements given during her arrest.
Corporon argued that the officers handling the case after her arrest ignored her attempts to invoke her Miranda rights.
They later presented her with the Miranda rights in written form rather than verbally.
Officers' Interview with the Defendant
Corporon further claimed that during her client's arrest at McDonald's, two plainclothes officers detained her without identifying themselves.
They escorted the teenager out into the parking lot before handcuffing her and presenting her with their official badges.
Corporon also said that the videotape of the interview showed that her client was crying hysterically while uttering statements that couldn't be understood.
It further revealed her client claiming that she was not sure what was good for her and wanted to go home.
Corporon stated that it looked like her client was trying to invoke her rights, but that the officers overlooked it by focusing on the procedure.
However, during the earlier hearings, the officers testified that the defendant issued no direct request for her parents or an attorney to be present during the interrogation, sentiments that were also echoed by Deputy Prosecutor Patricia Cassell during the motion hearing.
Moreover, the defendant signed a waiver form, which her attorney has since challenged, stating that the officers handling the case were required to obtain a coherent statement from her that she was waiving her rights voluntarily.
Deputy Prosecutor Patricia Cassell stated that during a lawful arrest or interrogation, it is routinely an emotional rollercoaster for any defendant.
She requested the judge go by what is on the video recording of the interrogation, arguing that the defendant was 17 years old and therefore old enough to understand her Miranda rights.
She also argued that what appeared to be the officers overlooking the defendant's requests, were actually attempts to calm her down.
Blame Game and Lawsuits
The case is set to go to trial on April 19 at the Juvenile Court in Summit County, Utah, where it will join the lawsuits launched by grieving parents who lost their children as a result of drugs allegedly provided by the defendant.
James and Deborah Seaver filed a lawsuit against several parties in pursuit of compensation.
Initially, they are suing Tor Project, China Postal Express & Logistics Company, Express Mail Service and the estate of the founder of AlphaBay, the late Alexandre Cazes.
The Seavers claim that these parties should be held liable for their son's overdose-related death, implicating two teens, one of whom is Corporon's client.
The Seavers are also suing Robert Ainsworth and his spouse, citing that parental negligence may have played a part in their 13-year-old son, Grant's death.
The Ainsworths, who also lost their son in the same incident, are promptly suing James and Deborah Seaver for neglecting to inform them that their son was at imminent risk of an overdose on the same drug that killed Grant Seaver.
Robert Ainsworth is also suing the same entities as James and Deborah Seaver.
As the blame game continues, the epidemic worsens as teenagers in Summit County are still sourcing drugs from the dark web.
Regardless of a favorable ruling for the grieving parents, more teenagers continue to overdose on drugs distributed through the dark web.