Teen, stepdaughter of doctor in OD case, found dead in creek

A teenage girl whose body was found floating in a creek in South Dallas is the stepdaughter of a North Texas physician accused in seven overdose deaths.

Mikayla M. Mitchell, 17, was found dead about 11:40 a.m. Sunday in the 3000 block of Rochester Street — less than a week after her stepfather’s arrest.

Police said she died from homicidal violence, but they did not confirm any other details about the case Tuesday.

Mikayla was the daughter of Jennifer Diamond, the wife of Sherman-based physician Howard Gregg Diamond.

Howard Diamond, 56, the principal physician at the Diamondback Pain and Wellness Center, was arrested June 11 on a number of charges including conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, health care fraud and money laundering.

Federal authorities say Diamond conspired with others to write unnecessary prescriptions for highly addictive painkillers, resulting in seven deaths in Texas in Oklahoma from 2012 to 2016. One of the deaths was in McKinney.

According to data from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Diamond wrote the second-most prescriptions for opioids out of all Texas doctors in 2014, and the 24th-most in the country.

His indictment alleges that beginning in 2010, Diamond conspired with others to write unnecessary prescriptions for highly addictive drugs like fentanyl, hydrocodone, and morphine.

Diamond, who is being held at the Fannin County jail, faces up to life in prison if convicted.