Eve Rogers, 12, died from acute intoxication involving three drugs, but officials have not determined how the fatal overdose occurred.
ENFIELD, Conn. — A Connecticut medical examiner has determined that 12-year-old Eve Rogers died from acute intoxication involving diphenhydramine, fluoxetine and bupropion, but investigators still do not know whether the overdose was accidental, intentional or caused by another person.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner classified the manner of Rogers’ death as undetermined, describing it as an overdose with undetermined intent. The finding resolves the medical question of what caused her death while leaving unanswered one of the central questions investigators have faced since she was found unresponsive at her Elm Street home on March 18.
Diphenhydramine is the active ingredient in the over-the-counter medication commonly sold as Benadryl. Fluoxetine is commonly sold as Prozac, and bupropion is commonly sold as Wellbutrin. The medical examiner attributed Rogers’ death to the combined acute intoxication from the three drugs.
Records disclosed through search warrants earlier in the investigation showed that Rogers had about 23,000 nanograms per milliliter of diphenhydramine in her blood. The records cited a documented lethal concentration for a child of 4,390 nanograms per milliliter. Investigators had known for months that the amount was potentially fatal, but the medical examiner had not previously issued a final determination on the cause and manner of death.
The new finding does not explain how Rogers came to have the drugs in her system. Search warrants showed investigators found a bottle of over-the-counter sleep medication containing diphenhydramine in the family home. The bottle had originally contained 250 capsules and had three remaining when investigators found it, according to the records. Rogers’ mother told police she controlled the medication and had provided it to her daughter to help her sleep.
The circumstances surrounding Rogers’ death have been under investigation since police were called to the home on March 18. Officers found her unresponsive and she was pronounced dead at the scene. Pills were found near her body, according to police and court records. Investigators later obtained warrants for the home and electronic devices as they examined the events leading to her death.
The investigation also led to criminal charges against Rogers’ stepfather, Anthony Federline. Police arrested Federline, 39, on April 2 on charges of first-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor. Court records say DNA testing on evidence collected during a sexual assault examination identified Federline as a contributor. Federline has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He has not been charged with causing Rogers’ death.
Earlier search warrants showed that investigators were seeking evidence related to possible murder as well as sexual assault and risk of injury. The existence of those warrants did not establish that a homicide occurred, and the medical examiner’s final classification does not make that finding. Instead, the undetermined ruling leaves open multiple possible explanations for how the fatal overdose happened.
Enfield Police Chief Alaric Fox said after the medical examiner’s findings were released that the department’s investigation remained active. Police are continuing to examine the circumstances surrounding the overdose and whether further criminal charges are warranted. The state Department of Children and Families has also said it will incorporate the completed autopsy findings into its investigation.
The medical examiner’s ruling could change if investigators develop significant new evidence, but officials have not announced evidence establishing whether Rogers took the drugs herself, received them from someone else or was given them without her knowledge. For now, her cause of death is established as acute drug intoxication while the manner remains officially undetermined.
Author note: Last updated Oct. 25, 2026.