At trial, experts debate drug Cosby gave to his accuser
NORRISTOWN, Pa. — It’s long been one of the most enduring mysteries of Bill Cosby’s sexual assault case: What drug did he give his chief accuser on the night she says he molested her?
Cosby has insisted he handed 1 1/2 tablets of the over-the-counter cold and allergy medicine Benadryl to Andrea Constand to help her relax before their sexual encounter at his home outside Philadelphia more than a dozen years ago. Constand testified he gave her three small blue pills that left her incapacitated and unable to resist as he molested her.
A pair of drug experts — one for the prosecution, one for the defence — testified at the TV star’s retrial Thursday that paralysis isn’t known to be a side effect of Benadryl, though its active ingredient can cause drowsiness and muscle weakness, among other side effects.
And Cosby’s expert, Harry Milman, said he doesn’t know of any small blue pill that could have produced the symptoms that Constand described.