Police cited and released 18-year-old Kayla Dunigan for
allegedly giving vodka to 15-year-old Sarah Botill at a Dec. 5
slumber party after which Botill died.
Police cited and released 18-year-old Kayla Dunigan for allegedly giving vodka to 15-year-old Sarah Botill at a Dec. 5 slumber party after which Botill died.
Dunigan was cited with a misdemeanor charge of furnishing alcohol to someone under the age of 21 about 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Gilroy Police Department after she and her father came in at about 8 a.m. to meet with Detective Stan Devlin, Gilroy Police Sgt. Wes Stanford said.
“I feel fairly confident that we’re not going to see any other charges coming out of this unless additional information surfaces,” Stanford said.
However, he said that decision ultimately will be up to the Santa Clara County Office of the District Attorney. Santa Clara District Attorney’s office spokesman Nick Muyo said the DA’s office examined numerous possible charges, and furnishing alcohol to a minor was the one charge they believed they could issue.
The office issued a warrant the day before Dunigan’s arrest, Stanford said.
The District Attorney’s office determined there was not enough evidence to link Dunigan’s law violation to the teen’s death and that she should not face charges related to her death, according to a prepared statement from the DA’s office. Although the teenager died several hours after drinking alcohol furnished by Dunigan, the Santa Clara County Coroner’s Office was unable to determine the exact cause of the teenager’s death.
Dunigan allegedly brought a bottle of Ketel One vodka to a birthday party at the Bunting Court house of Roland and Lisa Velasco on Dec. 5. The three girls who were at the party – Botill, Dunigan and Lisa Velasco’s daughter – were drinking the vodka mixed with sparkling cider, unbeknownst to the Velascos, police have said.
Botill – the daughter of a Gilroy firefighter and a Gilroy High School student – became increasingly ill after the girls had been drinking, vomiting several times. She and Lisa Velasco’s daughter put on bathing suits and got in the shower to wash off the vomit. Botill ultimately died shortly after being transported to Saint Louise Regional Hospital about 9:30 a.m., police said. Dunigan left at about 5 a.m. after being disgusted by Botill’s vomiting, police said.
Botill’s autopsy report stated that her death cannot be determined, but her blood alcohol level – about .053 percent one to two hours before her death – was far below what would normally be fatal. She may have died from a preexisting heart condition that was exacerbated by alcohol or by inhaling a significant amount of water or watery vomit while intoxicated, the report said.
Dunigan was released on a promise to appear for her arraignment March 16 in Santa Clara County Superior Court.
The maximum possible sentence for this charge is six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. The minimum penalty is a $1,000 fine and 24 hours of community service.
