Original article no longer available
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
11 November 1992
PINEVILLE, Mo.
‘Prozac Defense’ Called Likely In Man’s Slaying
The controversial antidepressant Prozac may be used in the defense of a McDonald County woman accused of killing her husband, the prosecutor says.
Betty Lou Craig, 60, was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder in the death of her husband, Donald Craig, 62.
”We anticipate a Prozac defense,” Joe Schoeberl, the McDonald County prosecutor said Wednesday. ”We removed a blood sample and a urine sample with her consent to determine whether she had Prozac in her system at the time [of the shooting].”
Betty Lou Craig was being treated for depression and had recently been prescribed the drug Prozac, authorities said. She has been ordered to undergo a mental evaluation, they said.
Donald Craig, a retired farmer from Southwest City, Mo., was killed at the couple’s home about 7 a.m. Tuesday by a shotgun blast at close range, said McDonald County Sheriff Lou Keeling. Southwest City is in far southwest Missouri.
Prozac, made by Eli Lilly & Co. of Indianapolis, has been blamed for users’ violent or suicidal behavior. The company has denied that the drug was responsible.
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