A mother who allegedly killed her six-year-old son with enough sedatives to down a grown man has told police she did it because he was hyperactive.

Accused Sarah Elizabeth Stewart, 32, and the victim’s 48-year-old father Christopher Allen Stewart were seized in Abbeville County, in the US state of South Carolina, on Thursday, 30th March over the boy’s death.

Medical examinations have revealed that their son Aydon died from a massive overdose of the allergies sedative Benadryl.

The police went to the boy’s home in Greer, also in the US state of South Carolina, to help paramedics on 30th October last year, with Aydon later dying in hospital after being found unresponsive.

His parents had told medics that their son had hit his head and suffered a seizure after falling from a chair.

But an autopsy revealed he had suffered bruising and had ingested an overdose of Benadryl big enough to kill a man.

The police said the boy had been living in filthy conditions and that a number of child abuse referrals had been made to the South Carolina Department of Social Services in the past.

A statement obtained by Newsflash from the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office, said: “The violent crimes/homicide unit of the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office concluded an investigation yesterday that began on October 30, 2022, when deputies responded to an address in Greer to assist EMS [Emergency Medical Services] personnel with an unresponsive male child.

“Initially, the victim’s parents informed EMS and law enforcement that the child fell out of a recliner, hit his head on a hard floor, and suffered a seizure.

“EMS transported the victim from the scene to an area hospital and informed deputies before they left that the victim’s prognosis was grim.

“The victim passed away at the hospital later that day, and an extensive investigation began.

“A search warrant was conducted at the incident location, which revealed the victim was living in filthy conditions.

“It was also learned that previous child abuse referrals had been made to the SC Department of Social Services. At the victim’s autopsy, bruises in various stages of healing were documented, photographed, and collected along with other evidence.”

The statement went on: “The toxicology results revealed that the victim died from an overdose of Benadryl.

“The victim, who was 6 years old and weighed 45 lbs [20.4 kilogrammes], had enough Benadryl in his system to kill an adult male.”

The authorities also said that the parents admitted that the mother had given the boy the drugs.

The statement said: “After several separate interviews of both parents, where they admitted the mother gave the victim Benadryl because he was hyperactive, and meetings with both the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and the Solicitor’s Office, it was determined that probable cause existed to charge both parents with the death of their child.”

The statement added: “Both suspects were located in Abbeville County yesterday afternoon, transported back to Spartanburg, and booked into the detention facility. Both will appear before a magistrate this morning at 11:00am for formal bond hearings. This agency would like to thank SLED and the Abbeville County Sheriff’s Office for their invaluable assistance with this investigation.”

The police have said that the boy’s mother has been charged with homicide by child abuse and unlawful child neglect, while his father has been charged with unlawful neglect of a child.

The mother was reportedly denied bail while the husband was granted a bond of USD 10,000 (GBP 8,122).

The case is ongoing.