An Oregon dad has been arrested after allegedly drugging 12-year-old girls with homemade smoothies at his daughter’s sleepover party. Investigators are crediting one of the girls’ text to her parents as the key in unlocking this case.
Three Girls Hospitalized After Being Drugged at Sleepover
According to court documents, police were called to Randall Children’s Hospital on a Saturday morning in August 2023 after three girls tested positive for benzodiazepines, used most commonly as a sedative to treat anxiety and sleeping disorders, after spending the night at a friend’s house.
57-year-old Michael Meyden of Lake Oswego is accused of spiking the girls’ mango smoothies with drugs while they spent the night at his home. Meyden turned himself into the Clackamas County Jail in Oregon City on February 28, nearly six months after the incident occurred in August.
Meyden’s bail was set at $50,000 and he has since been released. Prosecutors have not commented on the six-month gap between the incident and the arrest.
The Sleepover in Question
In a court affidavit, detectives explain that Meyden was “very” involved with the girls and their activities throughout the sleepover, based on accounts given by each of the girls.
“Mr. Meyden had taken them to get their nails done, pick up a pizza for dinner and directed their activities. The girls explained Mr. Meyden was constantly checking in on them and interjecting himself into their conversations.”
According to court documents, Meyden arranges most of the playdates for his daughter because his wife’s primary language is Japanese. None of the girls or their families were close with the Meyden family nor had any of them spent any time at the Meyden’s house prior to the sleepover.
The document continued: “The girls stated they played in the sprinklers, went in the hot tub, took showers and got ready for bed at Mr. Meyden’s direction. The girls stated they spent the majority of their time in the basement, where they were doing a ‘spa night,’ watching movies while they did facials.”
Police say Meyden made mango smoothies which he “insisted” that all four girls drink, making them two servings each.
As stated by the court document, “Mr. Meyden specifically gave each of the girls specific colored reusable straws to distinguish their own drink. Mr. Meyden was adamant that the girls drink out of their own cups.”
One of the girls, “who barely drank any at all” says Meyden insisted on a second serving, then accused her of switching her straw with his daughter’s, “and this upset him.”