Coroner rules accidental overdose in teens’ January deaths

Two teenagers whose bodies were found Jan. 21 in a Huntington Beach apartment died of accidental overdoses, the Orange County Sheriff-Coroner has declared.

Aaron Saenz, 15, of Westminster, and Chelsea Taylor, 16, of Huntington Beach both had methadone, alprazolam and hydroxyalprazolam in their systems. Doxylamine was also identified in Aaron’s autopsy and ethanol in Chelsea’s, according to the report.

The National Center for Biotechnology Information identifies methadone as a pain-relief analgesic, alprazolam as a medication designed to treat anxiety disorders and panic disorder, and doxylamine as a treatment for insomnia and cold symptoms.

Ethanol is the intoxicating agent in alcohol.

The teens were found in a vacant apartment at Via Verde, a 277-unit complex at 15555 Huntington Village Lane. Their time of death was estimated to be 12:01 a.m.

A community manager for Via Verde said in January that Aaron’s father had lived at the complex recently, and the bodies were found in his former apartment.

— Michael Miller