Incident 33913

A former nurse who diluted Valium intended for disabled patients pleaded guilty to two charges of tampering with a consumer product.

Kristie Ann Mollohan of Kalamazoo entered the pleas Thursday, Aug. 30, in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids. A third tampering charge will be dismissed.

The maximum penalty is 10 years in prison. She will be sentenced later.

She worked as a home-health nurse for a Wyoming company in 2016 when a 4-year-old boy in her care died of seizures after his medication was diluted, Allegan police said.

In a plea agreement, Mollohan acknowledged that she removed liquid diazepam, or Valium, intended for a disabled 30-year-old patient in Barry County as well as two brothers in Allegan County. Tests showed that bottles contained as little as 1 percent of the declared concentration.

All of the patients required around-the-clock care.

“The Defendant knew that she put the patients’ lives at risk by diluting their diazepam given that the diazepam was used, among other purposes, to suppress seizures,” according to a plea agreement Mollohan signed.

Ryley Maue, 4, died Aug. 26, 2016, at his Allegan home.

The state Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs was notified on Sept. 13, 2016, that Mollohan, a licensed-practical nurse, was fired by Lakeshore Home Health Care Services for diverting drugs, according to state records obtained by MLive in a Freedom of Information request.

She admitted that she took Valium that was intended for the three patients, state records showed.

The state said the victim’s seizure episodes were stable until Mollohan began diluting his liquid Valium. Mollohan was the only nurse treating the three patients to test positive for benzodiazepines.

Mollohan allegedly told a pediatric care coordinator at her company that she had diluted Valium with water. She said she took the drug herself because she was depressed about her husband leaving her and her sister’s death years ago, records said.

Another LPN had reported that the Valium intended for the patients was clear, rather than its usual pale yellow.

Mollahan told investigators that she provided undiluted doses of Valium to the patients but acknowledged that other nurses, who also would provide medication, would not know that it had been diluted, reports said.

The state said that Mollohan had earlier been investigated for suspected drug diversion at another company but no charges resulted. She told investigators that her medical insurance would not cover the cost of a particular medication for depression while an approved drug was ineffective, records show.

Her nursing license was revoked last year.

https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2018/08/ex-nurse_admits_diluting_valiu.html