“My beautiful boy is gone. 16 years old,” Berman posted on Instagram about the death of Samuel Berman Chapman. “Taking shelter at home. A drug dealer connected to him on Snapchat and gave him fentinyl (sic) Xanax or Percocet (toxicology will tell) and he overdosed in the bedroom. They do it because they hook people up even more and it’s good for business but it causes an overdose and children don’t know what they’re taking. “
“My heart is completely broken and I’m not sure how to keep breathing,” she added. “I post this now just so that no other boy dies. We watched him so closely. Straight student. Getting ready for college. Experimentation went wrong. He had the drugs delivered home. Please watch your kids and WATCH SNAPCHAT especially. That’s how they get it. ”
CNN spoke with Samuel Chapman, Laura’s husband and father of three children.
He said his youngest son found Samuel in his room lying on his back “… and a classic death pose with fentanyl, where … his breathing slows down so much that his body starts to have convulsions,” Chapman described.
Samuel had tried marijuana before, Chapman said, and they were actively testing drugs on him and he was passing the tests.
“As far as we knew, there was never a heavy drug in our home until this Snapchat dealer met my son online,” he said.
Santa Monica police and paramedics responded to the house on Sunday night.
There, they found a minor who was unconscious and unable to breathe, police said, and despite his efforts, the teenager died on the spot.
Police said they believed that the use of prescription drugs was involved and added that the investigation is ongoing.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner is investigating the death, said spokeswoman Sarah Ardalani.
Snapchat spokeswoman Rachel Racusen said in a statement emailed to CNN that the company’s biggest sympathies are with her family.
“We are committed to working closely with the authorities in this case and in all instances where Snapchat is used for illegal purposes. We have zero tolerance for using Snapchat to buy or sell illegal drugs, ”said Racusen.
The use of Snapchat for illegal purposes goes against the guidelines of the company’s community and “we enforce these violations,” added the spokeswoman.
“We are constantly improving our technological resources to detect drug-related activities so that we can proactively intervene. If you witness illegal behavior on Snapchat, use our tools in the app to report it quickly and confidentially, so that we can take action “Racusen said. “We have no higher priority than keeping Snapchat a safe environment and we will continue to invest in protecting our community.”
Chapman remembers his son as a “beautiful soul”.
“He had plans and dreams. He was a good student and a great friend to his colleagues,” said Chapman.