DRUG OVERDOSE MAY BRING CRIMINAL CHARGES

Sara Aeschlimann

A DuPage County grand jury today will consider whether Garrett Harth
caused the drug-overdose death of one of his closest friends.

Harth, 21, has been under intense police scrutiny since Sara
Aeschlimann overdosed last spring in the basement of his parents'
Naperville home.

Prosecutors Joseph Ruggiero and Justin Fitzsimmons are expected to
present evidence today to a grand jury that suggests the young woman
did not voluntarily ingest all of the drugs. If indicted, the charge
most likely would be involuntary manslaughter.

Aeschlimann, an 18-year-old Naperville Central High School senior,
died May 14 after swallowing six times the lethal limit of PMA - the
toxic lookalike hallucinogen she, Harth and another friend mistook for
the club drug Ecstasy.

Harth has not been charged with her death. But he was arrested days
after she died on various drug charges.

Two jailhouse informants since then have told prosecutors Harth
admitted to crushing up four pills - Aeschlimann took a total of seven
- - and secretly slipping them into a glass of water after she rejected
his sexual advances.

Harth's attorney, Daniel Collins, said he is aware the grand jury will
consider additional charges such as involuntary manslaughter while
meeting today behind closed doors.

He argues the informants are unreliable criminals who receive lenient
prosecution for their cooperation. He vehemently denies their
accusations.

"We're fully prepared for this," Collins said. "We've been expecting
this for awhile."

Sara Aeschlimann would have celebrated her 19th birthday Saturday. Jan
Aeschlimann solemnly sang "Happy Birthday" to her daughter. She
remembered the day her only child was born. On Sunday, Sara's friends
brought roses to her mother and reminisced while looking through baby
photos.

The pain is so sharp, Jan Aeschlimann can't handle celebrating
Christmas this year.

As in the past, Jan Aeschlimann said she desperately wants to find out
what really happened to her daughter. She also wants to make sure
other parents learn more about Ecstasy and the deadly lookalike drug
to ensure this doesn't happen again.

"I want what's right to be taken care of," she said when asked about
the possible indictment. "I just feel there's a lot more that hasn't
come out yet. I just want matters settled."

So far, Harth is facing drug charges on two separate criminal cases.
He was charged after police found a half-dozen of the white PMA pills
inside his house while investigating Aeschlimann's overdose.

And Harth was convicted Oct. 26 of unlawful delivery of a controlled
substance in an unrelated case. He faces between four and 15 years in
prison after being found guilty of selling cocaine to two police
informants April 12 in a local store parking lot while police watched
from a nearby car.