Mother pleads guilty in son's overdose death

Clinton, N.C. — A Plain View mother pleaded guilty under an Alford plea in the drug overdose of her 12-year-old son Monday.

In an Alford plea, a defendant pleads guilty, while maintaining his or her innocence, and admits it is in his or her best interest to take the plea deal, because there is sufficient evidence that could find him or her guilty.

Caleb Wayne Bevil, died April 26, three days after he was found unconscious in his home.

His mother, Tina Maria Lynn, 37, of 10110 Timothy Road, initially refused to allow paramedics to take Caleb to the hospital, telling them that she would care for him. Someone in the home later called 911 and Caleb was taken to  WakeMed in Raleigh, where he died.

An autopsy showed he had ingested a lethal dose of methadone and benzodiazepine.

Lynn was charged with involuntary manslaughter in July and has been incarcerated ever since.

Judge W. Allen Cobb Jr. sentenced Lynn to three years of intensive supervision and ordered her to pay restitution to Caleb's father for her son's funeral costs, and submit to a mental evaluation.

The Department of Social Services took custody of Lynn's three other children after Caleb's death.