4 SENTENCED IN DATE-RAPE DEATH TRIAL

DETROIT - A teenage girl's drink was drugged without her knowledge at
a party, and she later died.

Concluding a case that drew national attention to GHB, a drug that has
been linked to date rapes, a county judge sentenced four men to prison
here Thursday for putting what proved to be a fatal quantity of the
substance in the soft drink of an unsuspecting 15-year-old girl a year
ago.

Judge Maggie Drake of the Wayne County Circuit Court sentenced Joshua
Cole to seven to 15 years in jail for involuntary manslaughter in the
death of Samantha Reid, a high school freshman from Rockwood.

Cole had confessed to police immediately after the girl's death that
he put the drug in her drink at a small party.

Daniel Brayman and Nicholas Holtschlag, who were accused by
prosecutors of helping Cole, were each given jail sentences of five
years and nine months to 15 years, also for involuntary manslaughter.
And Erick Limmer, whom prosecutors accused of insisting that no
ambulance be called to help Samantha when she passed out, was
sentenced to three to five years for being an accessory to
manslaughter.

The party was held at Limmer's apartment in a suburb of Detroit. Cole
was 19 at the time of the crime, while both Brayman and Holtschlag
were 18, and Limmer was 26.

The men were convicted two weeks ago on these and lesser charges,
notably mixing a harmful substance in a drink. They received separate,
shorter sentences Thursday for the lesser crimes, to be served
concurrently with the manslaughter-related crimes.

Brayman's attorney, John Gates Jr., and Holtschlag's attorney, Brian
Dailey, said their clients were innocent and would appeal. Attorneys
for the other two defendants did not return calls for comment.

Brayman was the only defendant with a criminal record: He had been
convicted as a juvenile of malicious destruction of property, a
misdemeanor, for having demolished a mailbox.

Michigan Republicans used Samantha's death to push legislation through
Congress adding GHB to the federal list of the most-controlled
substances, joining heroin and LSD as a Schedule 1 drug.

GHB, or gamma hydroxybutyrate, has become popular in recent years
mainly as a recreational drug, but has also been used in date rapes.

The slightest variation in the quantity or purity of the drug can
cause unconsciousness and death. Doctors recommend that anyone who
passes out after ingesting the drug receive immediate emergency
medical attention.