81. David Carmichael: A Prescription to Kill

The Courageously.u Podcast

David Carmichael made headlines when he was charged with first-degree murder in the death of his 11-year-old son, Ian.

On July 31, 2004, in a London, Canada hotel room, David crushed up sleeping pills, sedated his son, and strangled him. At the time of the murder, David was experiencing an adverse reaction to the prescription Paxil, which he had begun taking three weeks prior.

While others believed David was “getting better,” he was actually descending into a private chemically-induced hell of delusion. In his state of psychosis, David believed, that his healthy son, who had a mild form of epilepsy, was brain-damaged, dangerous, and needed to die. Out of love for his family, David believed it would be best for him to take Ian’s life and to sacrifice his own life by spending the next 25 years in prison.

Today David shares his story with us as a warning to know your drugs.

We chat about...

• The delusions that led to his son's death
• What went through David's mind as he watched tv following the murder
• Why David accessed psychiatric medications
• The side effects David was experiencing while on Paxil
• Whether he was ever informed of possible side effects
• Why he initially stopped taking Paxil
• What the trial process looked like
• Why it's important to not blindly trust doctors
• What David's mental health treatment looks like now
• When the psychosis lifted and he realized what he had done

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