A young girl pleaded with her mother to pick her up from a friend’s house after being unknowingly drugged by the friend’s father during a sleepover. Michael Meyden spiked mango smoothies with Temazepam, a sedative typically used for treating insomnia, which he served to his daughter and her friends, including the 12-year-old girl.
Despite being urged to consume the laced smoothie, the girl who refrained from drinking it repeatedly contacted her family, expressing her discomfort and asking to be fetched home. Frantically texting her mother around 2 a.m., the distressed girl implored for immediate assistance due to feeling unsafe.
Following the girl’s retrieval by a family friend and subsequent return home, her parents rescued the other two friends who had also consumed the spiked smoothies and took them to the hospital. Both friends tested positive for benzodiazepine, with one describing feeling woozy, hot, and clumsy before falling into a deep slumber after consuming Meyden’s smoothie.
Recalling the unsettling events, one of the victims at Meyden’s sentencing described the impact of the incident on her life, condemning him as a monster. Another victim labeled Meyden a “rotten old man.” Court records reveal that Meyden and his ex-wife settled a civil lawsuit filed by one victim’s father, although the settlement amount remains undisclosed.
The lawsuit, initiated in November 2024, sought $2.4 million for emotional distress, negligence, and battery claims. Meyden had previously pleaded guilty to three felony charges related to drugging individuals and was sentenced to two years in prison in June 2024 by Circuit Court Judge Ann Lininger.