Father Charged For Teen’s 2017 Overdose Death

colebirkhead
colebirkhead

A Bangor man is facing a pair of felony charges for the drug overdose death of his 16-year-old son in 2017. Forty-eight-year-old Gary Birkhead was arraigned Wednesday in Van Buren County on a homicide-involuntary manslaughter charge and a count of second-degree child abuse connected to the death on August 13, 2017 of Cole Birkhead. The teen from Hartford died at Bronson Hospital in Kalamazoo of an overdose, though Michigan State Police and the Van Buren County Prosecutor’s office have not revealed which drug it was. Gary Birkhead was arrested on Tuesday following the lengthy investigation, which MSP says remains open.

Photo of Cole Birkhead courtesy of Michigan State Police