Two adults in Elizabethtown are now facing a stack of charges after hair-follicle tests on four of the five children in their home reportedly showed exposure to illegal drugs. Bladen County investigators say those lab results helped build a case under a relatively new state law that turns certain drug exposure into a felony, pulling a local family into a legal fight that also spotlights how hair-testing evidence is used in child-welfare and criminal investigations.
Details From the Investigation
Authorities identified the adults as Bradley Senecal and Shiana Di’Julia Roden. According to investigators, hair samples taken from the children, who they say range in age from about 5 to 12, tested positive for multiple substances including cocaine and methamphetamine, as reported by the Charlotte Observer. Roden has been charged with four counts of exposing a child to a controlled substance and four counts of child abuse. Senecal faces four felony counts of exposing a child to controlled substances and four misdemeanor counts of child abuse, the paper reports.
Court calendars show that Senecal was also charged earlier this year with attempted first-degree murder, a separate case listed in the Bladen District Court schedule, according to the Bladen District Court calendar.
New Statute Gives Prosecutors a Tool
North Carolina created a specific offense for “exposing a child to a controlled substance” that took effect Dec. 1, 2025, and allows felony charges when a child is exposed or harmed, according to the North Carolina General Assembly. The law defines a child as anyone under 16 and ratchets up penalties if the exposure leads to ingestion, serious injury or death. Prosecutors in Bladen County say they are relying on that statute in the current indictments.
How the Tests Were Done and What They Showed
Investigators say they obtained hair-follicle samples from the children through a licensed medical provider and sent them out for analysis. Four of the children’s tests reportedly came back positive for several drugs. Bladen County officials told reporters that those lab findings helped establish probable cause for the exposing-children counts, as detailed by the Charlotte Observer. Officials say there were five children in the home at the time of the investigation.
Limits of Hair Testing, Per Recent Reporting
Hair testing and other drug-screen methods have well-known limits and have sparked recurring debate about false positives and government overreach. Investigations by The Marshall Project have found that routine screening and misunderstood results have, in some cases, led to law-enforcement referrals and prosecutions. Those findings were later summarized for North Carolina readers by North Carolina Health News.
In court, defense lawyers frequently challenge hair-test results, raising issues such as environmental contamination, lab methodology and what a positive result really proves about a parent’s actions in the home.
Legal Implications
Under G.S. 14-318.7, causing exposure to a controlled substance is a Class H felony, with steeper classifications if a child ingests the substance or suffers serious injury or death. The penalties increase as the level of harm rises, according to the statute. The law gives prosecutors a clearer path to felony charges in exposure cases, but it also puts the technical quality of drug testing and the chain of custody for samples squarely at the center of any defense strategy. How judges weigh laboratory evidence and expert testimony will likely determine how successful cases built on hair screens turn out to be.
Both defendants remain charged and the matters are pending in Bladen County court. Court schedules show multiple filings and prior dockets that include Senecal’s earlier attempted-murder case. Local authorities say the investigation is active and that additional details are expected to surface through court filings and public records as the case moves forward.
