--- description: Melissa Robitille and her boyfriend were arrested on suspicion of second degree murder title: Police: Vermont Mother Killed Son By Putting Alcohol in His IV image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Vermont Mom Accused of Killing Son By Spiking IV With Alcohol by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 8, 2014 1:25 PM CUT by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 8, 2014 1:25 PM CUT A Vermont mother is accused of [killing her 13-year-old son](http://www.upi.com/Top%5FNews/US/2014/10/08/Vermont-mother-and-boyfriend-facing-murder-charges-in-sons-death/3821412742391/ "undefined") by putting alcohol in his IV, police say. Investigators said Melissa Robitille and Walter Richter III of Hardwick, Vt. put alcohol in teenager Isaac Robitille’s IV, which he required to keep him alive after being born with serious medical conditions and physical handicaps. Robitille called police after finding her son dead, UPI reports. Isaac was found to have a blood alcohol content of 0.146 percent, and a medical examiner said that alcohol was a contributing factor in the teen’s death. The cause of death was homicide, said the examiner. Police arrested her and her boyfriend Tuesday after completing the teenager’s autopsy and toxicology. \[[_UPI_](http://www.upi.com/Top%5FNews/US/2014/10/08/Vermont-mother-and-boyfriend-facing-murder-charges-in-sons-death/3821412742391/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3481350/vermont-alcohol-mom-iv/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3481350/vermont-alcohol-mom-iv/"},"headline":"Vermont Mom Accused of Killing Son By Spiking IV With Alcohol","datePublished":"2014-10-08T13:25:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:39:07.897Z","description":"Teen born with serious medical conditions and physical handicaps that required constant IV","url":"https://time.com/3481350/vermont-alcohol-mom-iv/","keywords":["Crime"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Frizell","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3481350/vermont-alcohol-mom-iv/","name":"Vermont Mom Accused of Killing Son By Spiking IV With Alcohol"}}]}] ```