My sweet boy, 18, was first Brit fentanyl death…like tragic Hayden Panettiere he had no idea he was taking a deadly drug

HOLLYWOOD has been left reeling after actress Hayden Panettiere’s shock death, with sources this week revealing an oxycodone pill laced with fentanyl was the reported cause of her demise. Michelle Fraser knows only too well the dangers of the powerful synthetic opioid that is up to 100 times stronger than heroin, as she lost her beloved boy Robert to an overdose when he was just 18 years old. Michelle’s son Robert Fraser, 18, died from an accidental overdose of fentanyl Credit: Supplied The Deal teen loved skateboarding with his friends Credit: Supplied “Rob hadn’t even started shaving when he died,” says Michelle, who lost her son on November 19 2016, just 26 days after his 18th birthday. “He was obsessed with skateboarding, it’s the only thing he ever wanted to do. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! “He would be 28 now. I see his friends settling down with their careers and getting married and having children and think: ‘You didn’t get the chance to do any of that’.” According to sources at US showbiz website TMZ, Bring It On Star Hayden, 36, had a “long time drug dealer” in her home town of Los Angeles, who provided her with black-market prescription drugs including oxycodone, a strong opiod used to treat pain. Hayden Panettiere was found dead after taking an oxycodone pill laced with fentanyl Credit: Getty The actress was addicted to drugs and alcohol from a young age Credit: Getty The actress, who had previously revealed an addiction to opioids and alcohol from a young age, was found dead in an apartment on August 16 after flying to South Carolina, where she was staying with her on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson. Robert, from Deal in Kent, was given the drug in a white packet by a dealer after meeting up with friends to buy cannabis. Michelle, 57, remains convinced her son had no idea he was taking fentanyl or had any awareness or its potency. “Robert went to buy weed with his friends because that’s what he did,” she says. Most read in The Sun “Some lowlife gave him and his friends a little white package and said: ‘Here, try it, it’s along the lines of MDMA or ecstasy’. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t, it was fentanyl.” A few days later, Robert’s father found his son in his bedroom – and it was already too late. “I just collapsed to the floor and screamed,” said Michelle, who got a phone call at 9.24am, when she was shopping in Primark. Robert thought the deadly drug was harmless, but it is up to 100 times stronger than heroin Credit: Supplied Robert would have been 28 now Credit: Supplied “Robert hadn’t taken fentanyl the night he died, he had prepared to take it, there were two lines still on the bed next to him. “He might have licked his fingers or even absorbed it through his skin, he hadn’t taken it. “I believe it was just a few tiny, tiny grains that killed him.” Even microscopic amounts of fentanyl can prove fatal. The powerful drug is routinely used as a sedative for patients in intensive care, for advanced cancer pain management and in surgeries or procedures. It is also a popular product on the black market, killing an estimated 38,000 people in the US each year, down from a peak of 82,000 in 2022. Musician Prince died from an accidental overdose in 2016 after unknowingly taking counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl and musician Mac Miller died in 2018 after snorting counterfeit oxycodone pills that were secretly laced with fentanyl. There are thought to be up to 70 deaths from fentanyl annually in the UK, with Michelle successfully campaigning for Robert’s Law after losing her son, which helped place fentanyl in the top category of Class A drugs for prosecution, meaning tougher sentences for dealers. Michelle and family are bracing for the 10th anniversary of Robert’s death Credit: Supplied He is sorely missed by older sibling Amy and little brother Tyler Credit: Supplied “Thankfully, since Robert died, the number of deaths in the UK from fentanyl is on a decline,” says Michelle, who works as a lunchtime supervisor and also gives talks in schools about the dangers of drugs. “I’m so grateful that when I spoke out the government listened. “Robert helped save lives by sharing his story and making people aware that the poison was here.” “My theory is that in the UK, unless you’re seriously ill the first instinct for our doctors is not to prescribe an opioid,” she adds. “They do a lot of prescriptions over in the US, which means more people risk becoming addicted, while we are more responsible. “From the talks I have had with the US families who have lost relatives, they just don’t really seem to be able to get a grip on it. “With the celebrities, it’s the people that surround them too, who need to be more responsible.” Michelle’s younger son Tyler was just three when his big brother died and by the time he reached secondary school, he began asking questions. “I protected him for a long time and didn’t tell him,” she says. “He obviously knew his brother had died but he didn’t know the circumstances surrounding it. “When he went into year 7 at school he started to ask more questions because they were learning about drugs so I had to sit him down and talk to him about it, age appropriately. “He did say to me one night that he was angry and he hated the person that killed his brother and I said: ‘Well, you gotta look at it like this, Tyler. “‘Robert does have to take some of the responsibility because nobody forced him to go and buy drugs‘.” In May 2017, an inquest recorded a verdict of drugs-related death. Michelle says she knows who the dealer was who sold her son the fatal dose of fentanyl but he was never charged in connection with his death. “We know he did it but they couldn’t get into Robert’s phone to get the evidence,” she says. “He was arrested a couple of years later, prosecuted for dealing cannabis I believe but nothing stronger. “Michelle is bracing herself for the November 19th anniversary, saying when it has all become too much over the years, she simply removes herself . “I was diagnosed with PTSD afterwards and when it gets unmanageable I hide myself away,” she explains. “I lost my mother and father at this time of year too so it’s always an incredibly difficult few months for me. “Rob died just a couple of weeks after he had acted as pallbearer at my mother, his grandmother’s funeral.” The bereaved mum finds comfort in Tyler, who is now 13 and already towering over her, just like her 6ft 5ins older son. “Tyler’s very much like his big brother,” smiles the mum, who is mum to older daughter Amy too. “He’s kind, he’s compassionate, he’s polite. “He’s all arms and legs, just like Robert.” “He comes alive when I talk about him,” adds Michelle. “I miss his hugs, he always said a hug cures everything. “He had amazing hazel eyes and a goofy personality, with so much compassion.” Comment now