in their rooms when their father was home, as Michael would become upset at "disruptions." Williams stated Michael would reportedly demand that Carolyn give the children clonidine to "shut these kids up" or "calm them down," leading Carolyn to begin administering the children's nighttime clonidine dose as early as 5:30 PM. Riley's condition visibly deteriorated in the months preceding her death. McGonnell and Williams said that the girl grew "zombified," not speaking and approaching people silently; she would sleep for as long as 17 hours per day, only waking to eat. Faculty at Riley's preschool noted that Riley became so weak that an aide needed to support her body when sitting. A neighbor noticed that Riley and her siblings appeared "listless" and robotic. Final days and death Kifuji last saw Riley and Carolyn at an appointment on December 7, 2006. Kifuji told Carolyn that if Riley continued improving, they could discuss reducing her clonidine prescription at the next appointment. On Friday, December 8, Riley developed symptoms of what first appeared to be a cold. Within a day, she developed a "barking cough" like that of croup. By December 10, she had developed a fever, begun vomiting and refusing to eat, and reportedly spat out the cough syrup Carolyn attempted to give her. Later that day, she began wandering aimlessly around the house, appearing restless. Williams and McGonnell, concerned about Riley's health, repeatedly encouraged Carolyn to take Riley to the doctor or emergency room. Though Carolyn told them that Riley had an appointment with her pediatrician on December 11, she had not attempted to schedule an appointment. Riley showed minimal improvement on December 11, with an ear thermometer registering her temperature at 100.7 degrees F. Despite her illness, the parents took her to a Social Security office to inquire about a delayed payment, but had to reschedule the meeting when Riley vomited in the waiting room. She continued to wander listlessly around the house and refused food. Death Throughout Riley's illness, McGonnell and Williams had both grown increasingly angry with Michael's and Carolyn's refusal to take Riley to a doctor, but believed that calling emergency services themselves would be unsuccessful because they were not Riley's parents. In the afternoon of December 12, McGonnell reportedly threatened to beat Michael "so that the ambulance will come and take both of you," and allegedly broke a shelf off of the wall in anger. Michael