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Annette McKenzie, mother of 16-year-old Britney Mazzoncini, will never forget the day of her daughter’s death.
“[Britney] seemed in such a good mood,” Annette remembered, “She came in from a friend's house, made me a cup of tea and we sat together to watch Big Brother. It was so content and normal — with no signs anything was out of the ordinary.
“Then she made us both another drink, told me about her plans for the weekend and went to bed. I said I loved her and she replied cheerfully: 'Night, Mum, love you.'”
That was the last time Annette heard her daughter speak.
The next time Annette and her husband saw Britney, she was lying on her bedroom floor, stomach swollen, eyes wide and pitch black.
It was 3:17am, and one of Britney’s friends had banged on the front door, waking everyone in the house. When Annette answered the door, the friend demanded to know where Britney was, and if she was okay.
Annette didn’t understand where these questions were coming from – until the friend explained that Britney had overdosed on prescription anxiety pills that she’d received from her doctor just a couple weeks prior.
There was too little time to process all of this information at once: Annette was horrified that her daughter had gone to the doctor for mental help without her knowing, shocked that the doctor would write this prescription after just one appointment – and without her knowing, and terrified that she would lose her daughter.
The family called for emergency help, but by then, it was already too late. Britney had passed away from drug overdose. She had taken her last breath while lying in her father’s arms on her bedroom floor.
Police are now questioning the doctor who prescribed this medication to Britney and investigating the laws regarding underage patients’ prescriptions.
While the case is still being resolved, we keep Annette and her family in our thoughts.
