Celebrity sex therapist and TV host Dr. Laura Berman is mourning the loss of her teenage son.
On Monday, Feb. 8, the OWN TV host and New York Times best-selling author confirmed on Instagram that her teen son Samuel Berman Chapman died from an accidental overdose of fentanyl-laced Xanax at their family home in Santa Monica.
“My beautiful boy is gone. 16 years old. Sheltering at home,” Berman stated when she shared the news on Instagram Sunday.”
She added that her son got “the drugs delivered to the house” in an “experimentation gone bad.”
“My heart is completely shattered and I am not sure how to keep breathing,” said the relationship and intimacy therapist and host of “In the Bedroom with Dr. Laura Berman” in a caption of a picture of herself embracing her smiling son.
Firefighters and paramedics arrived at the family’s home Sunday afternoon and found the 16-year-old unconscious on the floor. Despite efforts to save him, the teen died a shortly after at the scene.
The Santa Monica Police Department said a preliminary investigation found that prescription drug use may have been involved.
Berman said her son got his hands on the unknowingly fatal drug through Snapchat and warned other parents to watch their kids, and especially watch them if they use Snapchat.
“A drug dealer connected with him on Snapchat and gave him fentanyl laced Xanax and he overdosed in his room,” Berman wrote. “They do this because it hooks people even more and is good for business but (it) causes overdose and the kids don’t know what they are taking.”
Berman remembered Samuel as a “straight A student” who was “getting ready for college.” She added, “I post this now only so that not one more kid dies.”
In an Instagram Story, Berman doubled down on her parental advisory, writing, “If you have teens, please read this and get them off Snapchat ASAP! This is a trend now and overdoses amongst teens is on the rise.”
Snapchat issued a statement expressing their condolences to Berman, and said they have a zero-tolerance policy for using the platform to buy or sell illegal drugs.
“Our deepest sympathies are with the family and friends of Samuel Berman Chapman and we are heartbroken by his passing,” the company stated. “We have no higher priority than keeping Snapchat a safe environment and we will continue to invest in protecting our community.”
Snapchat added that it’s “committed to working together with law enforcement in this case and in all instances where Snapchat is used for illegal purposes.”
Berman said she and her husband are waiting for toxicology reports to confirm which drugs led to their son’s death.