A woman charged with a teenage boy’s death after he opened her fridge and drank from a bottle of syrup not realising that it contained methadone has vanished ahead of a court case.
Police officers have been looking for Patricia Kirsch, 56, who disappeared in an unknown direction after walking out of her home on Wednesday, 5th October.
Media suspected that she attempted to escape from an ongoing trial in which she is charged with negligent homicide.
The incident occurred when the 56-year-old woman organised a birthday party for her 14-year-old son in 2017.
The celebration took place in her apartment in the Heimbach municipality, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
But Kirsch, who was a former drug addict, had forgotten a “Woodruff syrup” bottle full of methadone in the fridge.
Woodruff syrup which is made from plant extracts and a hint of lemon juice is a popular drink when watered down and as well as being used for medicinal and culinary purposes, it is also growing in popularity as a cocktail mixer.
But Methadone which the bottle contained is a potentially deadly synthetic drug used to treat chronic pain as well as addiction to heroin or other opioids. It is assumed that she had obtained it for use as she was a recovering alcoholic.
One of her son’s friends, reportedly aged 16, drank from the bottle thinking it contained what the label said.
He ended up in the hospital and died the next day following complications due to the overdose.
Kirsch was sentenced to 35 months in prison, but appealed against the decision immediately after.
The appeal hearings had begun at the Bad Kreuznach District Court in August, 2022.
Following her disappearance, officers from the Police Headquarters in Trier published a missing person’s report two days later on Friday, October 7th.
She is reportedly of slender build and about 1.60 metres (5.25 feet) tall.
The report added that her hair was long and “strawberry blonde” while her face was covered with light pigment spots.
A spokesperson from the Police Headquarters Trier told Newsflash in a statement: “Extensive searches have so far failed to locate the missing person.
“It cannot be ruled out that Mrs. Kirsch is in a helpless situation or that an accident has occurred.”
The search continues.
