ESCONDIDO, Calif. (KGTV) - Some grief-stricken parents are speaking out days later that their college-bound teenage son was found dead in his Escondido home, from a suspected fentanyl overdose.
For stepmom Julie Atesalp, and dad Ramsey, the heartbreak is unrelenting.
“Devastated. A knot in your stomach, won't go away. Can’t get your breath. You don’t want to go to sleep because he won’t be here when you wake up,” said Julie.
“We miss him every second. We feel empty,” said Ramsey.
It's been like that since Friday morning, when sent their daughter to the bedroom of their 18-year-old son, Kai, to wake him to walk the dog.
Kai was found in his bed.
“He had vomited in his sleep laying on his back, and he still had foam coming out of his nose,” said Ramsey.
Kai had passed away from a suspected fentanyl overdose.
Kai was a star wrestler at Escondido High, among the best in the county in his weight class. His parents say he was hard-working, caring and loved to laugh.
“He was funny. His friends describe him as the light of everyone’s lives,” said Ramsey.
Kai had been accepted into Luther College in Iowa, on a nearly full ride. He was set to compete on the wrestling team.
That bright future has now been cut short—by a pill.
In Kai’s bedroom, police say they found a pill laced with fentanyl.
Kai's parents say in Instagram messages shared by police, Kai bought two pills from an acquaintance that he thought were the painkiller, Percocet.
“Sold two of them for $8 dollars,” said Ramsey. “The person said he took them all the time, that it was safe.”
“So $4 cost him his life,” said Julie.
“We think he was being a teenager, didn't think it was a big deal … for the heck of it, maybe trying to show off. He was tricked by a person, and it cost him his life,” said Ramsey. “He told friends over Instagram he had bought the pills. They told him not to take it. He said, 'I already took it.'”
The heartbroken couple's message to other parents: educate yourselves on fentanyl and insist on educating your kids.
“There’s no such thing as too much education … Everybody makes mistakes. and there are some mistakes you can't come back from,” said Ramsey.
Police arrested a 17-year-old boy on a possession and sales of narcotics charge, with prosecutors weighing additional charges. Police say they recovered 42 pills.
“We hope he is fully prosecuted to deter others from taking that risk,” said Julie.
A Gofundme campaign has been set up to help the family with memorial expenses. A college send off party scheduled for July 30th will now become a Celebration of Life service.
A county task force offers a toolkit for families to help increase fentanyl awareness.
