6-year-old dies after given enough Benadryl to kill an adult man, officials say

GREER, S.C. (WHNS/Gray News) – Two people have been arrested in South Carolina on child abuse charges after the death of a 6-year-old boy.

Sarah Elizabeth Stewart, 32, was charged with homicide by child abuse and unlawful neglect of a child. Christopher Allen Stewart, 48, was charged with unlawful neglect of a child.

According to the sheriff’s office, deputies responded to a home in Greer on Oct. 30, 2022, to help EMS with an unresponsive child.

Initially, deputies said the child’s guardians told officials enforcement that the child fell out of a recliner, hit his head on a hard floor and suffered a seizure.

EMS took the child, later identified as Aydon, to a nearby hospital and informed deputies before they left the home that the child’s “prognosis was grim.”

Aydon died at the hospital later that day, and an extensive investigation began.

The toxicology results revealed the child died from an overdose of Benadryl. The report showed the boy, who weighed 45 pounds, had enough Benadryl in his system to kill an adult man.

Authorities said the boy’s guardians said in interviews with detectives that the boy was given Benadryl because he was hyperactive.

A search warrant of the home revealed Aydon was living in filthy conditions, and his autopsy showed he had bruises in various stages of healing.

It was also learned that child abuse referrals had been made to the South Carolina Department of Social Services before this incident.

Copyright 2023 WHNS via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.