A Plain View woman whose 12-year-old son died of a prescription pill overdose in April 2008 pleaded guilty Monday in his death, which authorities said could have been prevented.

Tina Maria Lynn, 37, of 10110 Timothy Road, Dunn, entered the guilty plea to involuntary manslaughter in the death of her son, Caleb Wayne Bevil, who was found unresponsive in the family’s Timothy Road residence on April 23, 2008. An autopsy would later reveal that the boy, a student at Plain View Elementary, died due to an overdose on methadone and Xanax.

Lynn was charged in her son’s death in July 18, 2008, and has been incarcerated ever since.

Wearing an orange jail-issue jumpsuit, Lynn entered her plea in Sampson County Superior Court. During the plea hearing, presiding Senior Resident Superior Court Judge W. Allen Cobb Jr. asked if Lynn was indeed guilty. Wiping away tears from her eyes, she replied yes.

The judge subsequently sentenced Lynn to three years of intensive supervision and ordered her to pay restitution for funeral costs, as well as submit to a mental evaluation. A prison sentence of 19 to 23 months was suspended.

The state announced its intention not to pursue other pending charges against Lynn as part of the plea. At the time of her arrest in July 2008, she had also been charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

In stating the facts of the case, Assistant District Attorney Robbie Thigpen said Sampson County sheriff’s deputies were initially called to the Timothy Road home of Lynn and her boyfriend, James Hardee, on April 22. Deputies were told cash and some prescription medications were missing from the home. Hardee told authorities that the 12-year-old had been “acting funny.”

Thigpen said during the course of the investigation, Deputy Patrick Dunn was called to the residence “several times.” In one particular instance, Dunn was called by dispatchers and told to respond to the home because 911 had already been contacted about a possible overdose.

When they arrived, EMS personnel noted that 12-year-old Caleb had pinpoint pupils, which can be an indicator of a drug overdose, Thigpen said. Lynn refused to have her son transported, saying she would watch over him and contact authorities if his condition worsened.

Bevil was found unresponsive at the residence the very next day, on April 23. Lynn called 911 and rescue personnel discovered that the 12-year-old’s lips had turned blue and he was not breathing.

Caleb was taken to Betsy Johnson Regional Hospital in Dunn and later flown to WakeMed in Raleigh, where he would be placed on life support before dying three days later. An autopsy conducted by the Office of the State Medical Examiner in Chapel Hill would reveal the cause of death as a methadone and Xanax overdose

Thigpen said an EMS worker who responded to the Timothy Road home on April 22 told investigators that, had medical personnel been allowed to take the juvenile in for a drug screening and treatment, “a narcotic methadone overdose could have been prevented.”

Family members said Caleb is “very much loved and is missed,” Thigpen said.

The boy’s four siblings were placed in the custody of the Department of Social Services following Lynn’s arrest. Cobb told Lynn she would have to continue to comply with all DSS requirements “with the end in mind toward reunification of other family.”

Lynn was convicted of misdemeanor child abuse and driving while impaired in Harnett County in October 2007, stemming from the same incident in October 2004, according to the N.C. Department of Corrections.

Chris Berendt can be reached at 910-592-8137, ext. 121, or by email at sicrime@myclintonnc.com.