Mum whose daughter died after taking herbal supplement sold in corner shops issues warning
Kielee Rustici died on 1 March, 2025 after taking a herbal supplement bought legally over the counter at a shop, and her mum is warning others about the dangers of it.
The 23-year-old's cause of death was given as an overdose of something called kratom, a herbal supplement marketed as a way to treat pain and help improve sleep.
"Kratom killed my daughter," Kielee's mum Tia told the Wall Street Journal as she appealed to the millions of people in the US taking it despite the various warnings connecting the supplement to organ damage and death.
Between 2020 and 2024 the CDC registered over 5,200 fatal overdoses where kratom was detected, which has led to regulators taking steps to ban something people can buy from a shop.
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Some US states have banned it already, others are working on it, an attempt to put a widespread ban on it in 2016 and designate compounds in it as a Schedule 1 controlled substance on par with LSD or heroin were stopped by the American Kratom Association.
"One of the most dangerous myths surrounding kratom is it’s natural and safe," Tia said as part of her testimony warning about the dangers.
Speaking to Sky News, the mum said it was 'hard' to look at pictures of her daughter and know that she wouldn't see her again.
She said: "I'll never walk her down the aisle like she did for me, I'll never have grandbabies from her, I'll never see her grow into the woman that she could have."
According to the Mayo Clinic, kratom is 'unsafe and ineffective', explaining it comes from the leaves of an evergreen tree called Mitragyna speciosa, and it carries a risk of getting addicted.
The clinic warned that people might falsely assume that kratom is safe because it comes from a plant, but depending on the active ingredient and the amount taken it can be harmful.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned people not to take kratom and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) says the herbal supplement is a 'drug of concern'.
Known side effects of the drug include weight loss, nausea, vomiting, liver damage, muscle pain and high blood pressure.
It can also make a person depressed, confused, give them hallucinations and cause seizures.
The Mayo Clinic notes that most deaths involving kratom involve another harmful substance, and overdosing deaths like the one Kielee suffered are rare.
Some deaths from kratom have been linked to the supplement being tainted with salmonella, which has resulted in at least 35 deaths.
Joe Harker