OWN TV host Dr. Laura Berman reveals her son Samuel, 16, died from a drug overdose after he purchased Xanax laced with Fentanyl on social media
- The 52-year-old relationship therapist and television personality took to her Instagram on Monday to share the tragic news
- She shared a photo of herself hugging her child with the caption: ‘My beautiful boy is gone. 16 years old’
- Dr. Berman said that a drug dealer had connected with Samuel on social media and ‘gave him fentanyl laced Xanax and he overdosed in his room’
- She has three sons with Samuel being the middle child while Ethan was born in 1999 and Jackson born in 2005. Her husband is also named Samuel
- Dr. Berman had made her name on the national stage with multiple appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show
- She later received her own show on the Oprah Winfrey Network as she hosts In the Bedroom With Dr. Laura Berman
OWN TV host Dr. Laura Berman has revealed her 16-year-old son Samuel Berman Chapman died after overdosing on drugs he allegedly purchased on Snapchat.
The 52-year-old relationship therapist and host of ‘In the Bedroom With Dr. Laura Berman’ on the Oprah Winfrey Network took to Instagram on Monday to share the tragic news.
She posted a photo of herself hugging her child with the caption: ‘My beautiful boy is gone. 16 years old.’
Berman claimed that a drug dealer had connected with Samuel online and ‘gave him fentanyl laced Xanax and he overdosed in his room’.
OWN TV host Dr. Laura Berman has revealed her son Samuel Berman Chapman has died aged 16 after an apparent drug overdose
Berman has three sons, with Samuel (second left) being the middle child. Her eldest son Ethan (left) was born in 1999 and youngest son Jackson (right) was born in 2005
She continued: ‘They do this because it hooks people even more and is good for business but it causes overdose and the kids don’t know what they are taking.
‘My heart is completely shattered and I am not sure how to keep breathing. I post this now only so that not one more kid dies.’
Berman has three sons, with Samuel being the middle child. Her eldest son Ethan was born in 1999 and youngest son Jackson was born in 2005. Her husband is also named Samuel.
In her Instagram post Berman said that she and her partner had made an earnest effort to lead their children to the best path.
‘We watched him so closely. Straight A student. Getting ready for college,’ she wrote.
‘Experimentation gone bad. He got the drugs delivered to the house.’
Tragedy: Dr. Berman (pictured) said that a drug dealer had connected with Samuel on social media and ‘gave him fentanyl laced Xanax and he overdosed in his room’
Family first: Dr. Berman has three sons with Samuel being the middle child while Ethan was born in 1999 and Jackson born in 2005, two are pictured
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid pain medication that’s 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine.
It was created for prescription use but quickly became popular on the black market because its much cheaper to produce than similar drugs such as heroin.
A spokesperson for Snapchat said the company is ‘heartbroken’ by Samuel’s death and is working with police investigating whether the app was used to purchase the drugs.
‘We have zero tolerance for using Snapchat to buy or sell illegal drugs,’ the spokesperson told DailyMail.com.
‘Using Snapchat for illegal purposes is firmly against our community guidelines and we enforce against these violations.
‘We are constantly improving our technological capabilities to detect drug-related activity so that we can intervene proactively.
‘We have no higher priority than keeping Snapchat a safe environment and we will continue to invest in protecting our community.’
Partners: Her husband is also named Samuel as they are seen together
The author also shared a statement with E! News on Monday which began: ‘Our hearts are broken for ourselves and for all the other children that are suffering during this pandemic.’
She is also is calling on social media networks to help the Santa Monica Police with their investigation, which according to the police is something the big technology companies regularly refuses to do.
‘And we encourage every parent to manage their children’s social media as closely as possible.’
Dynamic duo: Dr. Berman had made her name on the national stage with multiple appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show and later received her own show on the Oprah Winfrey Network
Berman had made her name on the national stage with multiple appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
She later received her own show on the Oprah Winfrey Network as she hosts In the Bedroom With Dr. Laura Berman.
Berman has also authored multiple books including 2016’s Quantum Love: Use Your Body’s Atomic Energy to Create the Relationship You Desire.
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