Maryland

Police: Mother Forced Son to Drink Bottle of Medicine, Set Car on Fire

A mother forced her 5-year-old son to drink a bottle of medicine and then set the car that he was riding in on fire, killing him, police said.

They charged Narges Shafeirad, 33, with first-degree murder and first-degree arson. The little boy has been identified as Daniel Dana.

Daniel was likely dead before the fire started, Montgomery County Police said at a news conference Friday.

Shafeirad was embroiled in a bitter divorce and custody battle with her husband, police said. The couple was due in court on the day of the car fire for a hearing.

The charges end the mystery over the car found crashed and burning in Montgomery County, Maryland, early June 16. A fire and rescue crew driving through the area discovered the burning 1993 Toyota Corolla near the westbound lanes of Sam Eig Highway (Route 370) near Fields Road.

The car seemed to have crossed the center median of the road, police said.

At the scene, paramedics found the mother face down outside the car, screaming in pain. The doors of the car were locked.

After paramedics began putting out the fire, they noticed the boy on the rear floorboard, but they could not get to him because of the fire.

The boy's mother was taken to an area burn unit with second- and third-degree burns to 40 percent of her body, where she is still recovering from burns sustained while starting the fire, police said Friday.

The scene immediately raised questions for the officers who responded. It became apparent "there was something suspicious about this death," said Capt. Darren Francke, director of Montgomery County Police's major crimes division. 

The fire was started with gas in the front-seat area of the car's passenger compartment, they said, not under the hood.

The boy was forced to drink the antihistamine diphenhydramine, the active ingredient in over-the-counter medications like Benadryl, police said.

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