Not In Vein –
May 15, 2020 – After years of dealing with her son’s devastating secret, Marlyse says she’s now determined to bring awareness to the opioid epidemic. “His death is not going to be in vain,” she says of her blue-eyed son, who would have turned 17 on April 9. “He’s going to help a lot of people down the road.” “He really, really enjoyed the acting,” his mom says. “I know there’s a stigma of child stars, but he was not a star. He was up and coming.” But eventually so much auditioning became “way too stressful,” and he took a break. It was around that time, at 13, that Marlyse discovered he was using marijuana, and from there he escalated to other drugs, though she doesn’t know for sure when he started using fentanyl. However, as his addiction progressed, he “was in complete denial because he was so ashamed,” she says.
