A codeine-laced soft drink popularized in hip-hop and rap music has been abused in the Twin Cities for more than 10 years, but authorities said a 14-year-old St. Paul girl's death Monday could be the area's first fatality from the concoction known as "purple drank."
Pauviera Linson was apparently given the drink, also known as "lean" and "dirty Sprite," at a birthday celebration Sunday in Burnsville, said family members and St. Paul police. A cousin found her in the family's St. Paul home about 9:45 a.m. Monday, on a bedspread with vomit in her mouth. She was pronounced dead as her 17-year-old friend, who also had consumed the drink, was transported to Regions Hospital.
Two men, ages 19 and 25, were arrested Tuesday in connection with the case. The Star Tribune generally does not name suspects until they are charged.
Linson's mother, Makiesha Johnson, described her daughter as a bright teen who wanted to be a fashion designer. Linson would've been a sophomore this fall at North High in North St. Paul.
"It's a bad dream," Johnson said. "When am I going to wake up?"
Linson's first cousin, Gerlaya Phillips, 12, said she was with Linson on Sunday. The two cousins and a friend, the 17-year-old girl, were picked up by three men Sunday afternoon, including the two who were arrested.
They went to a townhouse in Burnsville, where one of the arrested men was having a birthday celebration with about seven relatives, mostly older adults.
Police said the girls, who were familiar with the men, were given alcohol, marijuana and the codeine drink. Phillips said she abstained as the group drank in a living room and the adults hung out upstairs, occasionally passing by.