Inquest told Sudbury woman died of drug overdose

CBC, Oct 16 2002

SUDBURY, ON - OHIP billings and pharmacy records were put before the jury at the Kimberly Rogers inquest on Tuesday.

Rogers died in her Sudbury apartment in August 2001 while under house arrest for welfare fraud.

The first day of the proceedings focused on Rogers' troubling medical history.

The jury heard the first confirmation from an official source that Kimberly Rogers died of an overdose of anti-depressants.

Coroner's counsel Mark O'Mara said the toxicology report showed lethal concentrations of Amitriptyline in her system.

She was taking the drug for chronic depression, insomnia and migraine headaches.

The jury has yet to hear how Rogers was able to obtain so much of the medication.

In early May 2001, her doctor reported that she was doing well on the dosage he prescribed, but within a couple of weeks he increased her medication to the maximum dose.

Between late May and late July, drug stores dispensed more than 1,300 tablets to Rogers, enough to last several months.

None of the medication was found in her apartment when she died a couple of weeks after filling the last prescription.

Her doctors are set to testify later in her inquest.

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