Dead baby's parents to face charges in Calif.

A Shelton couple accused of killing their 6-month-old son by overdosing him with adult medication will be extradited to California to face charges.

Thomas Michael Boettger, 38, and Lorrie Jean Boettger, 38, who were arrested by Seattle police last week, have agreed to be moved to San Diego County and could go within several days, according to King County Prosecutor spokesman Dan Donohoe.

They were each charged with one count of child abuse in connection with the Oct. 25, 2006, death of Thomas Boettger Jr. while the family was on vacation in California. The couple is being held in King County Jail after San Diego prosecutors filed charges and Seattle police arrested them while they were in Seattle.

In January, the San Diego County medical examiner ruled that the boy had died from intoxication of doxylamine and diphenhydramine — antihistamine and sleeping medications — and that the death was a homicide.

San Diego police said the Boettgers had diagnosed Thomas Jr. with acid reflux and colic and treated the boy with adult over-the-counter sleeping medications, which they said they learned to dose over the Internet. On the morning of the boy's death, Thomas Boettger orally administered some or all of the following medications: Unisom, Zantac, Benadryl and Sominex in syringes and bottles, according to the police report.

The Boettgers had claimed that their son died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), defined as the unexplained, sudden death of an infant under a year old, and had memorialized him on several Web sites, including one they created for babies lost to SIDS.

Natalie Singer: 206-464-2704 or nsinger@seattletimes.com