A woman from Houston, Texas, United States, has been accused of killing her six year old son so she could earn his insurance money.
Ashley Marks took out two life insurance policies on her 6-year-old son before giving him lethal doses of medications and over the counter drugs that caused him frightening hallucinations before he died, prosecutors with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office have revealed.
Reports say Ashley Marks had taken out two life insurance policies, each worth $50,000, for her son and she was the sole beneficiary, investigators said in court documents.
The policies were said to have been taken out about a month prior to the boy’s death.
Prosecutors allege that Ashley Marks, 25, a licensed insurance agent, repeatedly drugged her son in June.
An autopsy reportedly ruled the boy’s death a homicide after finding toxic amounts of methamphetamine and cocaine and various antihistamines, according to court records.
The boy’s grandfather told Houston police that after Marks had given her son medicine, the boy started hallucinating and “believed there were bugs on his clothing” and that his grandson “became scared of his hallucinations,” according to court documents.
The grandfather, Adam Marks, told police that after he told his daughter that her son had hallucinated after taking his medicine, she told him to give him more. He told police he did not comply, according to court records. The boy and his sister were living with their grandfather at the time of his death.
Adam Marks told police that his daughter gave her son more medicine, Nyquil, a few hours before he died, police said. According to the drug manufacturer, Nyquil should not be given to children under 12 years old.
Marks, has now been charged with capital murder and is being held without bond.
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