Rhiannon Ingle
A father from Oregon has been accused of drugging three 12-year-old girls who were attending his own daughter's sleepover party last summer.
Last Thursday (29 February), Michael Meyden turned himself into the police - over half a year since he allegedly dosed his daughter's friends' smoothies with benzodiazepine, a drug usually used to treat insomnia and panic attacks.
Meyden, 57, had his daughter’s three friends round at his Lake Oswego home on 26 August last year when he delivered them a batch of mango smoothies between 9 and 11pm, which appeared to have bizarre ‘tiny white chunks throughout and sprinkled on top’.
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According to Lake Oswego Police Department, Meyden has indicted on nine felony and misdemeanour charges - including causing another individual to ingest a controlled substance - and was taken to Clackamas County Jail.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Police have not publicly speculated on the potential motive.
Since Meyden handed himself in to police, a chilling text sent from one of the 12-year-old girls to her mum during the sleepover has been revealed.
The text message was sent just before 2 am and pleaded for the mum to come pick her up as she felt unsafe.
She wrote: "Mom please pick me up and say I had a family emergency. I don’t feel safe. I might not respond but please come get me (crying emoji), Please. Please pick up. Please. PLEASE!!"
She then contacted a family friend who came to pick her up and alerted her parents, who were asleep.
Describing the impact the allegedly spiked drink had, one of the girls told police she felt ‘woozy, hot and clumsy’ and after drinking the smoothie she blacked out, falling into a ‘thick, deep sleep’.
The concerned mother reportedly then alerted the other girls' parents, all of whom arrived at the Meyden home to collect their daughters.
Before the child sent the text, Meyden reportedly encouraged the girls to consume the drinks quickly.
Investigating officers later alleged that the probable affidavit was that Meyden had drugged the girls.
One of the pre-teens who secretly didn't finish her drink said she witnessed him entering the room and performing tests on them to suss if they were sleeping.
As reported by the Lake Oswego Review, she told investigating officers she saw her friend's father putting a finger under one of their noses and waving a hand in front of another's face.
She allegedly told police she could 'feel him watching her by his presence as she kept her eyes shut, pretending to be asleep'.
Tyla previously contacted Lake Oswego Police Department for further comment.