Upstate Boy Dead After Painkiller Overdose

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) - A 13-year-old upstate New York boy has died of an apparent overdose after ingesting the powerful prescription painkiller Oxycontin.

State police say Matthew J. Kappelmeier was found dead Sunday in the backyard of a friend's house in Nedrow, about 5 miles south of Syracuse. The friend called 911. No foul play was suspected in the teenager's death.

Sgt. Susan Lockyer says some of the boy's friends told investigators that Kappelmeier had recently taken Oxycontin, a brand of the drug known as Oxycodone.

The powerful narcotic is used to treat ongoing moderate to severe pain.

Police were trying to determine how the boy obtained the medication.

Kappelmeier was supposed to be entering eighth grade at Onondaga Central Junior-Senior High School.

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Information from: The Post-Standard, http://www.syracuse.com