Day care employees administered Benadryl and melatonin to children: Authorities

Background: The Gainesville, Ga. neighborhood where Stacie Fuller Young ran her day care service (Google Maps). Inset (top): Stacie Fuller Young (Hall County Sheriff’s Office). Inset (bottom): Ptiery Verby-Sunshine Edge (Hall County Sheriff’s Office).

Two Georgia women who ran a day care service were arrested after police accused them of dosing several young children with Benadryl and melatonin before naps.

Stacie Fuller Young, 51, ran a day care business out of her home in Gainesville, a city some 55 miles northeast of Atlanta, with her daughter-in-law Ptiery Verby-Sunshine Edge, 35. According to the Hall County Sheriff’s Office, a parent of one of the children they cared for started noticing that the child’s behavior changed in October 2024, describing them as “lethargic” and “irritable.”

Blood work conducted on two of the children in December revealed “high” levels of the allergy medication Benadryl and the sleep aid melatonin.

Hall County Sheriff’s Office Spokesperson B.J. Williams told local news station WDUN that a police investigation into Young and Edge began in December, saying, “A local pediatrician had conducted bloodwork on two children at the request of a parent who was worried that the children were lethargic and irritable and had been sleeping more than usual. This is something that had been going on for a time. The bloodwork basically determined that both of those children had elevated levels of both melatonin and Benadryl in their bodies, and the Benadryl levels were described as in the high range.”

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Williams said the investigation uncovered that the children were allegedly being dosed on a daily basis while in the care of Young and Edge. The levels of both medications were not considered to be toxic.

According to WSB, a local ABC affiliate, the children had been attending the day care since November 2023, but the change in behavior was not noticed until October 2024. WSB also reported that after contacting the Department of Early Childcare and Learning, Young was not licensed to operate a day care for more than two young children. She was issued a cease-and-desist order on Jan. 7, a day after the DECAL investigation kicked off. That investigation is ongoing.

Young and Edge were arrested on Jan. 13 and charged with four misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct. They both posted $5,200 bail and were released.