Draft:List of People Suspected to Have Died Because of SSRIs

https://antidepressantsfacts.com/; https://psychrights.org/research/digest/AntiDepressants/FDA2-2-2004Hearing.htm; https://neurosciencenews.com/guns-mental-health-facts-14661/; https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2004/11/prosecuting-pharma/; https://antidepressantsfacts.com/2004-08-05-pfizer-manual-to-defend-zoloft.htm

This article lists instances in which ingestion selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) is confirmed, suspected or alleged to have played a causative role in cases of suicide, homicide, homicide-suicidesand attempted homicide.

SSRIs are a class of antidepressants. The SSRIs are:

• Fluoxetine (brand names: Prozac, Sarafem, Rapiflux, Selfemra, Fontex).
• Sertraline (Zoloft, Lustral).
• Paroxetine (Paxil, Seroxat, Pexeva, Brisdelle).
• Fluvoxamine (Luvox, Faverin, Fevarin).
• Citalopram (Celexa, Cipramil).
• Escitalopram (Lexapro, Cipralex).
• Vilazodone (a serotonin partial agonist and reuptake inhibitor) (Viibryd).
• Vortioxetine (a serotonin modulator and reuptake inhibitor) (Trintellix (formerly Brintellix)).

Less common and discontinued SSRIs include

• Zimelidine (Zimeldine, Normud, Zelmid) (withdrawn after one year in Sweden due causing Guillain Barre Syndrome).
• Indalpine (Upstène) (never marketed in the US and discontinued in Europe due to toxicity).
• Dapoxetine (Priligy) (not prescribed for depression or associated symptoms, but as a fasting acting drug to treat premature ejaculation).

SNRIs are a class of antidepressants. The SNRIs are:

• Venlafaxine (Effexor).
• Duloxetine (Cymbalta).
• Desvenlafaxine (Pristiq).

Background

Categorised into 3 cases: commencementt; switch; withdrawal.

B

Corey Baadsgaard, 16, held 23 classmates and an English teacher hostage for 45 minutes at Wahluke High School, Mattawa, Washington using a hunting rifle. His family doctor had prescribed him 20 mg a day of Paroxetine (Seroxat) for social anxiety disorder, upping the dose to 40mg eight-and-a-half months later. When he failed to improve, Paroxetine (Seroxat) was abruptly discontinued. Venlafaxine (Effexor) was prescribed instead, to be titrated from 75mg to 300mg over three weeks. On April 10, 2001, after taking 300mg for the first time, Baadsgaard woke up feeling out of sorts and went back to sleep. He claimed his next memory was of being in a detention center that evening and that he had no recollection of the incident. Baadsgaard was sentenced to 14 months in juvenile detention.

Jennifer Barrett, 20, died on August 27, 1990 after shooting herself in the head in Spring Valley, California. Barrett developed an eating disorder aged 17. She was prescribed Fluoxetine in January 1990 but stopped after attempting suicide a few weeks later. She was prescribed Fluoxetine once more in July to counter the side effects of Clomipramine (Anafranil). Her diagnosis was mild depression. She became more agitated, aggressive and hostile, and had nightmares. She shoplifted and spent money compulsively, before buying the gun on August 25. Barrett's parents and sister sued the manufacturers of Fluoxetine (Prozac), Eli Lilly & Company.

Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, walked in to a Quebec City mosque and opened fire into a crowd of men, women and children during evening prayers, killing six Muslim men and wounding 18. His mother told police that his doctor had recently given him a new prescription for the antidepressant paroxetine (Paxil) and that he was very “anxious and unstable” in the week before the shooting. When he pleaded guilty in 2018, he did not explain why he targeted the mosque but said he had “suicidal thoughts” and an “obsession” with death and said he was “not a terrorist, nor an Islamophobe.”

Darren Baskins

The case Cloud v. Pfizer was decided three months after Tobin. 09 The decedent, Darren Baskins, committed suicide in August of 1997.'10 Baskins had originally been prescribed Zoloft for minor depression in February of 1996.11 Baskins and his wife were having marital problems and his wife had threatened to leave him prior to his hospitalization in August 1997.1 12 Evidence showed that the week before Baskins' death his mood had altered and a counselor had diagnosed him as suicidal.' 3 Baskins was admitted into a hospital before his death and the medical staff testified at trial that Baskins was not displaying akathisia. 1 4 Three days after being released from the hospital, Baskins hung himself at his home.' Baskins' widow brought a products liability and negligence action against Pfizer, the manufacturer of Zoloft, for alleged failure to warn and/or provide proper instructions regarding the potential sideeffect of suicide."l

Cecily Bostock, 25, a recent graduate of Stanford University, stabbed herself to death with a large kitchen knife on January 15, 2002, two weeks after starting Paroxetine. Five months prior, she had become moderately depressed and trialled She became increasingly agitated and had begun sleepwalking before her death.

Chris Brockman not the strongest; kills friend's mother in robbery.

Elizabeth Bush, 14, fired a gun in the cafeteria of Bishop Neumann Junior-Senior High School in Wahoo, Nebraska. No reliable source for AD use; Fluoxetine or Paroxetine.

C

David Carmichael strangled his 11 year-old son, Ian, in a hotel on July 31, 2004 in London, Canada. After business difficulties, in late 2003 Carmichael was diagnosed with depression and prescribed Paroxetine. He was on the drug for eight months, suffering initially akathisia before gaining weight and experiencing sexual dysfunction. As a result of these effects, he weaned off the drug over five weeks but experienced depression and weight loss. Paroxetine has the most severe withdrawal reaction among the SSRIs. He began taking it again at the original dose in July 2004, and suffered a severe adverse reaction, including akathisia and suicidal thoughts. He increased his dose in the hope of resolving his symptoms. Instead, Carmichael began believing Ian had permanent brain damage, was dangerous and would kill his sister (Carmichael's daughter). Acting calmly, he took Ian to a hotel on a Friday evening, allowing him to eat his favourite meal and watch his favourite move before surreptitiously giving him sleeping medication. He strangled him at 3am on July 31, before watching television for six hours. He dialled 911 at 9am. He was taken off Paroxetine and two weeks later was no longer psychotic.

Carmichael was charged with first-degree murder, but in October 2005, having found to have been in a state of psychotic depression when he killed Ian, he was judged not criminally responsible by reason of insanity. He was detained in a psychiatric hospital until December 2007, when he was conditionally discharged. He received an absolute discharge from the Ontario Review Board in December 2009. He now works as a prescription drug safety advocate.

Carmichael's lawsuit against GlaxoSmithKline, the manufacturer of Paroxetine, failed because it was time-barred.

Justin Cheslek, 20, hung himself on March 16, 2001 in his room at the University of Southern Mississipi. On February 14, he had visited the Student Health Clinic complaining of insomnia caused by migraine medication. He was prescribed the sleeping medication, Zolpidem (Ambien), but returned a week later complaining it made him feel "draggy and out-of-sorts during the day". He was prescribed Paroxetine did not tolerate it. Cheslek's prescription was switched to Venlafaxine on March 10. He had a 20-minute seizure 24 hours after starting Venlafaxine and took his life five days later. Cheslek's doctors had noted that he was not depressed or suicidal.

Gareth Christian, 18, Vancouver, Paroxetine, 2002 (on it for 7 months, came off it because of agitation, Paxil when he committed suicide in 2002). Gareth's father could not accept his son's death and killed himself.

Wayne Coburn died in his car by self-inflicted carbon monoxide poisoning three weeks after starting Paroxetine. He had been prescribed the drug for seasonal depression without suicidal tendencies. Coburn's daughter, Amy, connected his suicide to Paroxetine when she attempted suicide six weeks after being prescribed Paroxetine to deal with the grief.

Steve Cole's 70 year-old father hung himself 13 days after being prescribed Fluoxetine for chest pain. Limited online info; but doctor agreed it was the Prozac.

John Collins

Asa Coon from Cleveland, age 14, shot and wounded four before taking his own life. Court records show Coon was on Trazodone.

David Crespi, a 45 year-old Wachovia Bank senior vice president, stabbed his 5 year-old twin daughters, Sam and Tess, to death on January 20, 2006 at home in Charlotte, North Carolina. In the years before, Crespi suffered with anxiety, sleeplessness and bouts of depression for which he was prescribed Paroxetine. He had no history of violence. In January 2006, concerned about significant weight gain on Paxil, he was switched to Fluoxetine, also being prescribed Trazodone (Desyrel) for anxiety, and Zolpidem (Ambien) and Eszopiclone (Lunesta) for sleep. On January 20, while his wife was getting a haircut, he killed Sam and Tess before calling 911. The operator asked him if he was on medication; Crespi said he was on antidepressants. The operator told him: “Keep talking to me because you sound a little bit tired and stuff and we’re wondering if you maybe took too much medication." He told the operator that his thoughts had become real. In detention on January 26, Crespi's medications were switched to Escitalopram and Risperidone (Risperdal), an anti-psychotic. He was diagnosed with psychotic depression and features of bipolar disorder.

Crespi pled guilty to two counts of first-degree murder to avoid the death penalty was sentenced to life in jail without the possibility of release.

D

Kurt Danysh, 18, shot and killed his father on April 25, 1996 in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. He also stole $31 from him and took his pickup truck. Danysh had been prescribed Fluoxetine on April 8, which he took for 14 days, stopping a few days before the killing. He was evaluated by a psychologist in terms "nothing in his past or in his psychological profile suggests why he would [commit] murder, especially his own father ... nothing in my assessment explains why he committed this murder.”

Danysh pled guilty to third degree murder, having taken advice from his court-appointed lawyer that there was no evidence linking Fluoxetine to violence, and on the basis that the prosecution would not pursue a charge of first degree murder and the death penalty. He was sentenced to 22 ½ to 60 years in prison.

In 2012, Danysh failed in a lawsuit against the manufacturer of Fluoxetine, Eli Lilly & Company, on the basis of the statute of limitations.

In 2014, the prosecutor wrote to the court when Danysh sought a reduction in his sentence:

“My review of the record in this matter over the past several years, coupled with increased media reporting and scientific data, have convinced me of one thing ... there is the potential that the use of Prozac played a role in your homicidal act … This potential fact creates something that could have been considered as a mitigation at the time of your sentence ... and it was not as the Court did not have that information available to it."

Danysh was released on parole in July 2020.

https://healthwyze.org/reports/163-kurt-danysh; https://healthwyze.org/reports/220-new-details-in-the-kurt-danysh-antidepressant-murder.

Emylee Darneille, 24, a former West Point cadet, committed suicide on July 5, 2015 while on vacation in Seville, Spain. While on military duty in 2008, she injured her ankle, leading to persistent pain. On April 22, 2015, she had been prescribed Sertraline for anxiety and depression, which she requested be substituted for Fluoxetine on May 4. She was prescribed 10mg, increased to 20mg after seven days. On May 21, a week after the increase in her dose, she contacted the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center reporting she did not want to be alive. She contacted the PVAMC again and reported that she was thinking of hurting herself, which she attributed to various life stressors and possibly the change in her medication. Shortly after, she attend the emergency room at the Veterans Administration Hospital, Portland with reported self-inflicted wounds to her thigh. She had a few more appointments to manage her suicidal ideation before telling doctors on June 9 that any further appointment “may be a waste of time.”

Darneille's mother sued the United States for medical negligence on the ground that Darneille had undergone a radical change in her mental state as a result of the increase her dose of Fluoxetine from 10mg to 20mg, which doctors had failed to recognise and address, leading to her suicide. A settlement was reached in July 2022.

Leslie Demeniuk shot and killed her twin four year-old sons, James and John, at home in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida on March 17, 2001. She had gone through an acrimonious breakup with her husband. She read a newspaper advert about antidepressants for panic attacks. A nurse prescribed her Sertraline. After a month, Demeniuk returned to the nurse to say the drug was making her worse, she felt it was causing her to drink more and have thoughts about killing herself. After a further two weeks in Sertraline nothing had changed so she was prescribed Paroxetine instead. Two days later, she killed her sons and took an overdose.

Demeniuk survidved and was charged with two charges of first degree murder. She pled not guilty by reason of insanity, alleging the drugs caused her to suffer from akathisia, which she sought to self-medicate with alcohol and in this intoxicated state had killed her sons. Sertraline was replaced by Paroxetine at her doctor's behest two days before she killed her sons.. The prosecution waived capital punishment before trial.

Demeniuk was found guilty on January 27, 2001. She was given two mandatory life sentences, to be served consecutively. The boys' father blamed Demeniuk for the killings, but her boyfriend and stepfather stood by her, insisting Demeniuk's medications were responsible for the killings.

Daryl Dempsay, 35, stabbed his wife and two children at their home in Burlington, Kansas before he shot and killed himself with a .22-caliber rifle on March 13, 2006. He had begun taking Sertraline a few weeks prior. His wife and children sued Pfizer, claiming Dempsay's actions were caused by an adverse reaction to Sertraline.

Stewart Dolin

E

Elvira Espinoza, shot and killed her two children and then herself in Randolph, Vermont on September 7, 1997. Espinoza's ex-husband and parents both sued Eli Lilly & Company

F

Brandon Ferris

Chris Fetters

Romona L Floyd,

Bill Forsyth Sr,

Jeff Franklin

Stephanie Ray Fritz

Kara Jaye Anne Fuller-Otter

Neal Furrow

H

Eric Harris. Dylan Klebold's medical records have never been released.

Brynn Hartman

David Hawkins

Wendy Hay, 52, hanged herself at her home Arthington, near Leeds, West Yorkshire in September 2003. In April 1999, she had been prescribed Paroxetine (Seroxat) but, after a bad reaction, was given Prozac. Her depression returned two months before her death, when she was prescribed Prozac. In June 2003, a coroner issued a narrative verdict, finding that there was evidence that in a minority of patients who take this drug it may have adverse side effects and that the Prozac may or may not have contributed to Hay's action.

Jason Hoffmann

James Holmes

Caitlin Hurcombe

K

Steven Kazmierczak, age 27, shot and killed five people and wounded 21 others before killing himself in a Northern Illinois University auditorium. According to his girlfriend, he had recently been taking Prozac, Xanax and Ambien. Toxicology results showed that he still had trace amounts of Xanax in his system.

Alex Kim, age 13, hung himself shortly after his Lexapro prescription had been doubled.

Thomas Kingston was the husband of Lady Gabriella Kingston (née Windsor), a British writer and second cousin of King Charles III. He died after impulsively shooting himself with his father's shotgun at his parents' home in the Cotswolds, England.

On 3 December 2024, a coroner gave a narrative verdict that Kingston had no settled intention to end his life and had shot himself impulsively as a result of "adverse effects of medication he had recently been prescribed". In January 2024, he had taken Sertraline (Zoloft) for four days but stopped after it caused a severe adverse reaction, leaving him “sleepy and low in the mornings”, and feeling “woozy and overheat[ed]” during the day. In February 2024, he was prescribed Citalopram (Celexa), taking two pills and suffering a similar adverse reaction before he died on 25 February. The patient information leaflet (PIL) in the UK states that suicidal ideation and behaviour are risks during and shortly after discontinuing Sertraline. David Healy, a professor of psychiatry and psychopharmacologist, gave evidence as the expert medical witness to the inquest that SSRIs can cause even completely healthy people to end their lives and that Thomas' adverse reaction to Sertraline was predictive of his adverse reaction to Citalopram, the two drugs being "same thing ... with a different name." He had also been prescribed Zopiclone, a sleep medication. In a statement read on her behalf at the inquest, Lady Gabriella said patients required to be made more aware of the potential for an adverse reaction to the medications in order to prevent future deaths.

Kip Kinkle, 15, (on Prozac and Ritalin) shot his parents while they slept then went to school and opened fire killing 2 classmates and injuring 22 shortly after beginning Prozac treatment

L

Private First Class David Lawrence, 20, shot and killed Mullah Mohebullah, a Taliban commander he was guarding in a jail cell in Afghanistan on October 17, 2010. Lawrence had been deployed to Afghanistan in July 2010. He witnessed fellow soldiers being killed by roadside bombs, including a close friend and army chaplain, resulting in a schizophrenic episode for which he was prescribed Sertraline and Trazodone. After killing Mohebullah, he was taken off all medication. The killing provoked outcry from Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, and on the same day, the US Army charged David Lawrence with premeditated murder.

Lawrence pled guilty to murder at a US military court at Fort Carson, Colorado. He was sentenced to 12 and a half years, later reduced to ten years, after it was shown that he suffered from schizophrenic episodes.

Jared Lee Loughner

James Donald Lovett

Andreas Lubitz

M

Mr Malakoff

Margaret McCaffrey

Caitlin McIntosh

Hammad Memon, age 15, shot and killed a fellow middle school student. He had been diagnosed with ADHD and depression and was taking Zoloft and "other drugs for the conditions."

Andrew Meyers, 28, was prosecuted for the attempted murder of his friend after striking him four times with a "ninja key ring" (a spiked, brass-knuckles-like weapon) at home near Scotts Valley, California on June 20, 2002. The friend was left with a gash in his head, requiring seven stitches and staples, and was left with a permanent scar and lump on his skull. Meyers had been taking Sertraline for 2 weeks prior to the attack. At trial, an expert witness, neuropsychiatrist, Prof James Merikangas, testified that Meyers was suffering from involuntary intoxication by Sertraline, which eliminated his inhibitions and impulse control, leading to fleeting anger with sudden violence. Prof Merikangas lowered his fee for the case as he felt so strongly about Meyers' defence. On April 22, 2004, a jury found Meyers innocent of attempted murder.

On 5 April 1991, Sandra Moneymaker, 36, a housewife from Halifax, North Carolina, shot and killed her sons, Billy, 16, and David, 8. She had been prescribed Fluoxetine (Prozac) three weeks earlier after attending the emergency room at Duke University Hospital with what her husband described as "nerve problems". She was given a temporary diagnosis of "delusional disorder". Her husband blamed the medication for Sandra's actions. In criminal proceedings against Sandra was found innocent of the killings by reason of insanity. She was committed by The doctors who certified her as insane at the time of the killings also testified that they might have been avoided had she been prescribed different medication. Her husband, William Tucker, blamed Prozac for Sandra's actions and sued Duke University, which was responsible for the Hospital.

Matthew Miller, 13, ended his life by hanging inside a closet at home in Overland Park, Kansas on July 21, 1997. Miller had been struggling after moving to a new school. His parents took him to a psychiatrist who prescribed Sertraline. A week later, Miller's family noticed he was agitated, before died that evening.

Miller's parents sued Pfizer, the manufacturer of Sertraline, alleging the drug had caused their son's death. The suit failed as the evidence of the Millers' expert witness was ruled inadmissible. Pfizer's defence in the case was going to be that Miller had died by accident when taking part in auto-erotic asphyxiation.

Sam Morgan

P

On 20 September 2009, CJP, a 16-year old boy, killed his friend, Seth Ottenbreit with a single stab wound to the chest in West St. Paul, Manitoba. Another friend stated to police that when hanging out in CJP's garage, CJP "got this weird look in his face for a couple of seconds and then that's when it just happened, then he just went and stabbed Seth." Shortly after, CJP was observed "having a smoke and looking nervous and in shock".

CJP had been prescribed 20mg a day of Fluoxetine (Prozac) for depression on June 23, 2009, after which his parents reported CJP's increased aggression, a change in his sleep patterns, and that he was sleeping less, had a racing mind and was vomiting. CJP cut himself, threatened his father and others, punched the garage door and talked about slitting his wrists. His father had to take a knife from CJP, fearing he would harm himself. He attempted suicide on July 2, overdosing on Lorazepam. Despite concerns expressed by CJP's parents and family doctor that Fluoxetine (Prozac) was causing this deterioration, his dose was increased to 30mg 17 days before the killing. At CJP's request he was taken off Fluoxetine (Prozac) on November 21 after which his counsellor stated: "He just became normal, like a normal person. It's hard to believe that the guy sitting in from of me committed the offence: He's been terrific. I don't have a bad word to say about him."

CJP pled guilty to second-degree murder, but Justice Robert Heinrichs of the Provincial Court of Manitoba found that the effect of the Fluoxetine (Prozac) on CJP caused his behaviour before that day and "in committing an impulsive, inexplicable violent act", noting further:

"CJP was on Prozac pursuant to his doctors and psychiatrist's recommendations and prescriptions. CJP's behaviour deteriorated while on Prozac. While CJP may not have realized it, he had become irritable, restless, agitated, aggressive and unclear in his thinking. It was while in that state he overreacted in an impulsive, explosive and violent way. Now that his body and mind are free and clear of any effects of Prozac, he is simply not the same youth in behaviour.or character. ... there is clear medical and collateral evidence that the Prozac affected his behaviour and judgment, thereby reducing his moral culpability."

On these grounds, the judge refused the Crown's request that CJP be sentenced as an adult and sentenced him as a youth under the Youth Criminal Justice Act to three years in custody (two years served) and four under supervision in the community.

Seth Ottenbreit's family raised a lawsuit for financial compensation against CJP. CJP joined three psychiatrists to the suit, claiming they would be liable to reimburse him for any compensation for payable because they had prescribed him the Fluoxetine (Prozac), failed to cancel it when it caused his deterioration and increased the dose. The outcome of this lawsuit is not known.

Reginald Payne, 63, a teacher from Wadebridge, Cornwall, killed his wife by suffocation before jumping off a 200 ft cliff in March 1996. He began taking Fluoxetine (Prozac) 11 days previously. His family blamed the drug and sued the manufacturers, Eli Lilly and Company. The outcome of the case is not known.

Christopher Pittman (now Kristen Avery Pittman). In the course of the proceedings against Pittmann, Defense attorneys are seeking a court order that would force the prosecutor to submit the manual. The prosecutor, who couldn't be reached for comment due to an extended illness, has so far refused to disclose materials received from Pfizer.

R

Richardson

Kevin Rider

Jacob Tyler Roberts

S

Matti Saari, a 22-year-old culinary student, shot and killed 9 students and a teacher, and wounded another student, before killing himself. Saari was taking an SSRI and a benzodiazapine.

Donald Schell, a 60 year old man from Wyoming, shot dead his wife, daughter, 9-month old granddaughter and then himself during the night in Gillette, Wyoming in February 1998. He had suffered from episodic depression a few years earlier but had ceased taking Prozac because it made him feel agitated. He had previous never experienced suicidal or homicidal ideation or been violent until being prescribed Paroxetine (Seroxat) weeks before the killings. In a lawsuit by Schell's son-in-law in 2001, a jury found Paroxetine's British manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), 80% responsible for the killings, awarding Schell's relatives $6.4m. A spokesman for GSK expressed surprise at the verdict, stating the killings were caused by Schell's "severe depression and not its treatment" and that there was "no reliable scientific evidence linking the use of Paroxetine to the events in this case or to violence generally." However, in response to a request by the FDA to reanalyse data from clinical trials of Paroxetine prior to marketing, GSK found that significantly more adults who were given Seroxat became suicidal than those given a placebo and wrote to doctors advising them of this risk.

Del Shannon was a rock and roll and country music, singer and songwriter. In early 1990, he was pushing himself to finish a new album and schedule upcoming concerts. On the advice of his doctor, on January 24, Shannon began taking Prozac, an antidepressant. Fifteen days later, he died by suicide, shooting himself with a .22 caliber rifle at his home in Santa Clarita, California, on February 8.

Shannon's widow testified at hearing before the Psychopharmacological Drugs Advisory Committee of the Food Drug Administration that Shannon "was very much in charge of his business, but within days after he started taking Prozac I noticed a personality change in him. He developed severe insomnia, extreme fatigue, chills, racing heart, dry mouth, and upset stomach," widow. "Suicide was totally out of character for my husband. There was no note and no goodbye."

Dominique Slater: The adverse effects of psychiatric drugs are regularly misdiagnosed as more signs of depression, anxiety or some other created-by-vote psychiatric disorder. Then patients are prescribed additional psychiatric drugs or the dosage is increased.  That was the case of California teenager Dominique Slater.  Only 14 years old she was on several antidepressants including Celexa and Wellbutrin. When her erratic behavior worsened her doctor prescribed double dose of Effexor.  Fifteen days later she killed herself.  She was barely a teenager yet she was prescribed multiple antidepressant drugs at high doses.  The year was 2003. Britain had already sent letters to all physicians sternly warning against the use of any of these drugs in anyone under the age of 18 years.  It took the FDA another year to issue a warning of increased suicide in youths under 18 years old.  No letters were sent to physicians.  And the drug companies created marketing campaigns specifically to get antidepressants into the offices of all types of physicians, not just psychiatrists.

Chris Shanahan

Brian Storey

V

Jarrod Viktor

W

Jacob Williams

Jeff Weise

Joseph T. Wesbecker, 47, shot eight dead and injured twelve at his former workplace in Louisville, Kentucky, the Standard Gravure printers, before shooting himself dead, on September 14, 1989. He had begun taking Fluoxetine 11 days earlier. Wesbecker's relatives, his victims and their families blamed Fluoxetine for his action in the first suit alleging causality between the drug and suicide or violent behaviour. Eli Lilly on the basis that Fluoxetine had caused his actions.

Patricia Williamson, 60, of Beaumont, Texas, began taking Fluoxetine (Prozac) on Valentine's Day, 1997 following a depressive period beginning a few months prior. Six days later, she stabbed and slashed herself more than 100 times in her bathtub whilst her husband had breakfast in the kitchen downstairs. She died the next day in hospital. Eli Lilly & Company reached an out-of-court settlement in a lawsuit brought by Patricia's husband.

Billy Willkomm, an accomplished wrestler and a University of Florida student, was prescribed Prozac at the age of 17. His family found him dead of suicide – hanging from a tall ladder at the family's Gulf Shore Boulevard home in July 2002.

Beth Winter

Luke Woodham

Julie Woodward, 17, hung herself in the detached garage at her family home in North Wales, Pennsylvia on July 22, 2003. She had been diagnosed with depression, which included irritability. Her behavior worsened a few days after beginning a prescription of Sertraline. She argued with her mother and pushed her to the floor, which she had never done before. Over the ensuing days, Woodward became extremely irritable and reclusive; she could not sit still and paced incessantly. She died seven days after beginning Sertraline which, blood tests showed, she had not been metabolizing properly.

Less than a year after his daughter's death, Woodward's father, Tom, gave evidence at a joint hearing of the Psychopharmacological Drugs and Anti-Infective Drugs Advisory Committees of the US Food and Drug Administration concerning suicidal ideation and behavior in children and adolescents during treatment with SSRIs. Tom criticised the FDA, branding it a political entity beholden to the interests of pharmaceutical companies which had donated to the Republican party.

Unnamed

A 32 year-old woman

16 year-old boy had a 53-person kill list; was on Fluoxetine (Prozac).

A boy from Houston, age 10, shot and killed his father after his Prozac dosage was increased.