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2 Charged With Manslaughter In Polk Drug Overdose

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TBO.com

Published: December 22, 2008

Two men accused of providing oxycodone to a 19-year-old babysitter who died after taking the pills were charged today with manslaughter, authorities say.

Cory Watford, 19, of Auburndale, and Joshua Whitchard, 19, of Winter Haven, both are being held at Polk County Jail, and bail for each is set at $100,000. The teens' first-appearance hearing is scheduled for Tuesday morning.

Investigators say Whitchard and Holley Culvahouse, 19, were babysitting a 7-year-old boy at a Winter Haven home in June. Watford called Whitford that night and offered to sell him 10 oxycodone pills, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said.

Whitchard drove Culvahouse and the child to meet Watford and buy the drugs, Polk County sheriff's spokeswoman Donna Wood says in a written statement.

After buying the pills, Whitchard drove Culvahouse and the boy back to the Winter Haven home, Woods says. After Whitchard and Culvahouse took the pills and Whitchard smoked pot, they fell asleep, Wood says.

At 4:30 a.m., Whitchard woke up and saw that Culvahouse was not breathing. Whitchard drove her to a nearby fire station, and Culvahouse was taken to Winter Haven Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, investigators say.

An autopsy report from the Polk County medical examiner's office states that Culvahouse died from the use of multiple drugs, Wood said.

Because Watford supplied the pills and Whitchard gave the drugs to Culvahouse, their negligence caused her death, investigators and prosecutors say.

Whitchard was arrested today. Watford, who already was in Polk County Jail on unrelated drug charges, was charged with manslaughter.

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