Defense moves to keep hearing for teen accused in 'pink' deaths secret

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PARK CITY — Defense attorneys are attempting to exclude the public from hearings for a teenage boy accused of distributing "pink" to two 13-year-olds who police say died from overdoses of the synthetic drug.

Prosecutor Patricia Cassell confirmed that the motion to close the boy's upcoming March 31 hearing was filed by defense attorneys, and that a possible resolution in the case is expected to be addressed at that time.

Prosecutors aren't taking a position on the motion, Cassell said. In previous hearings, Cassell said prosecutors aren't seeking to move the case into the adult system.

The now 16-year-old boy's attorney, Tara Isaacson, would not say Friday whether the motion was filed by the defense or what is anticipated for the March 31 hearing. A court spokesman also would not provide details about the motion or the upcoming hearing.

The teenager is charged in 3rd District Juvenile Court with distribution of a controlled or counterfeit substance, a second-degree felony, and reckless endangerment, a class C misdemeanor.

KSL has chosen not to identify the 16-year-old at this time.

Charges in the case are tied to the deaths of Grant Seaver and his friend, Ryan Ainsworth, who were found dead within 48 hours of each other in September. Toxicology findings released in November confirmed the two boys, both Treasure Mountain Junior High School students, died of "acute drug intoxication of U-47700, the synthetic opioid known as 'pink.'"

The boy, who was 15 at the time, along with another teen, ordered the then-legal substance online from China and had it mailed to a friend's house, according to search warrant affidavits. The package, which was shipped from Shanghai, China, contained "a clear bag containing a white powder substance," police say.

The second boy investigated in the case has not been charged.

At the time of the boys' deaths, Park City Police Chief Wade Carpenter said investigators immediately started looking into pink due to social media conversations pointing to the drug.

Park City police and the school district sent out warnings to parents concerning the synthetic opioid. Police searched lockers at the middle school while school officials set up a system to keep track of other at-risk students.

As of Oct. 7, U-47700 became a Schedule I drug in the United States, meaning it has no known medical beneficial purpose. Because Utah law does not address U-47700, prosecutors are arguing that the teen distributed a "controlled substance analogue," or a substance that is chemically similar to a controlled substance.