Her Daughter Died After Buying Drugs Online. She Wants Every Parent to Hear Her Story
Last Updated: Thursday April 10, 2025
(USA Today) Growing up, Massachusetts teen Becca Schmill loved reading. She would often stay up past her bedtime reading a “Harry Potter” book with a flashlight.
Her mother Deb Schmill says that changed when smartphones entered the picture. She described Becca and her teenage peers as always having their phones in hand, unable to pull away from them at the family's Passover Seder or while at a group hangout with friends.
Years later, Becca used that same smartphone to purchase drugs from dealers on social media. On September 16, 2020, the 18-year-old died from drug poisoning after ingesting fentanyl-laced cocaine she bought from a dealer she found on Facebook.
Now, Schmill is raising awareness about the dangers of social media, which played a role in the traumatic rape and cyberbullying that led Becca to experiment with drugs in the first place. The family’s Becca Schmill foundation advocates for policies that protect young adults online.