Boy, 16, dies after ingesting water laced with meth

Lynnwood police may try to build a relatively unusual case of homicide by a controlled substance against a 29-year-old man who has been arrested in connection with the death of a Lynnwood teen.

According to court documents, the suspect is alleged to have punched Jamie D. Leavitt, 16, after the teen drank meth-laced water and then, while in a "drug-induced state," repeatedly tried to hug the older man.

The suspect, who initially told police that he only restrained the boy to keep him from hurting himself because he was "out of control," is being held in Snohomish County Jail for investigation of second-degree murder.

Lynnwood police Commander Jim Nelson said the department's ability to build a case for homicide by a controlled substance against the suspect will depend, in part, on the results of toxicology testing on Leavitt, which could take several weeks. If the tests show the teen died from a drug overdose, police could push for the charge.

According to court documents, paramedics responded to a reported drug overdose at a home in the 4500 block of 172nd Place Southwest in Lynnwood on Wednesday afternoon. They took the unconscious teen to Stevens Hospital in Edmonds where physicians told police the boy appeared to have suffered a fractured skull.

In court documents, police said the suspect punched the boy in the face several times after the boy kept trying to hug him. The suspect and his girlfriend told police the boy lost control after drinking "worb water."

"Worb water" is the meth-laced water that's left in a water pipe after it's been used to smoke methamphetamines.

Court documents say the suspect's mother told police she heard a commotion around 10:30 a.m. and went downstairs to find her son holding Leavitt down on a bed, but that it wasn't until 1:30 p.m. that a call was placed to 911.

Lynnwood police said they are investigating whether the suspect was the supplier of the meth and "worb water" that the boy allegedly ingested.

The state statute criminalizing the act of providing an illegal drug to a person who later dies as a result of ingesting that drug has been on the books for nearly two decades, but prosecutors said it can be a difficult charge to prove.

Snohomish County prosecutors have brought the charges against several people in recent years.

Donalydia Huertas, 18, and David Morris, 20, were charged with homicide by a controlled substance for allegedly supplying a fatal dose of ecstasy to their 16-year-old friend, Danielle McCarthy. The three friends, all from Puyallup, had been in Edmonds on New Year's Eve in 2006 for a series of parties when prosecutors say McCarthy took two tablets, became ill and died.

Morris pleaded guilty to the charge and could face up to five years in prison when he is sentenced. Huertas pleaded not guilty and now faces a trial on the more serious charge of manslaughter. Prosecutors said that in addition to supplying the drug, Huertas failed to seek medical aid when McCarthy fell ill.

In 2004, King County prosecutors filed a charge of homicide by a controlled substance against a Seattle madam who killed a former friend and employee with an overdose of meth and LSD.

According to charging papers, Esther "Sela" Havekost, was angry at Alena Stathopoulos, 29, when she rented a hotel room and then plied her friend with a mixture that contained a high dose of meth and LSD.

Havekost eventually pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to 27 months in prison.

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com