"If we feel we can prove it, we'll go forward [with a homicide charge]," said Deputy Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings on Wednesday. "It's something we'll seriously consider in light of all the evidence."
Bountiful Police Lt. Steve Gray said the girl died from a lethal dose of imipramine, which had been prescribed for White's use and is sold under the brand name Tofranil.
"It was his medication," Gray said. "And it appears to us that she was not forced to take the medication."
Gray said he expected White, a registered sex offender, to be charged with second-degree felony manslaughter, "at the least."
The night of July 5, White and Mikesell - who allegedly had been having sex together since October 2005 - went to Mueller Park, above Bountiful, to commit suicide together by drinking alcohol and ingesting prescription drugs, according to documents filed in 2nd District Court.
The following morning, White woke up, but the girl had died.
White then allegedly dragged her body to a more secluded place and hid pill bottles. The toxicology report says the girl died from ingesting imipramine.
Based on his interview with police and evidence at the scene, White was charged last month with several felonies, including the most serious count of second-degree felony child abuse. He is also charged with third-degree felony counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor, obstructing justice and desecration of a dead human body.
Prosecutors must now determine what, if any, culpability White had in connection with the girl's ingestion of the drug. Possible charges include negligent homicide, manslaughter or murder, depending on whether prosecutors determine White's alleged actions were negligent, reckless or intentional.
White's next court hearing is set for Friday, when Judge Darwin Hansen could set a preliminary hearing.
White has been listed on Utah's sex offender registry since 1996, when he pleaded guilty to lewdness involving a child and was sentenced to six days in jail and a year's probation.
In that case, White admitted putting two holes in the wall of a Bountiful apartment so he could watch young girls in the bedroom of their adjacent unit, according to a police affidavit. He also admitted stealing underwear from the girls' apartment.
shunt@sltrib.com
