Sheriff says baby died after teen mom slipped fentanyl into bottle
(CNN) — A 9-month-old baby in Florida died after his teenage mother allegedly slipped him fentanyl into a bottle before putting him to bed, Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leaper said.
MPs were summoned Monday to a house in the Callahan neighborhood about a child who was not breathing and had no pulse, Leeper said at a press conference on Wednesday. Deputies tried to resuscitate the child until firefighters took him to a Jacksonville hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Leeper said.
“Initially, the mother said she didn’t know what had happened. She put the baby to sleep and just couldn’t wake him up,” Leeper said.
The 17-year-old mother allegedly “changed her story several times” but eventually “confessed” she was tired and wanted to take a nap, filled a baby bottle and added some “what she thought was cocaine” to it. the sheriff said.
According to the sheriff, it was fentanyl, an opioid.
The medical examiner reported that the child’s blood contained 10 times the lethal dose and determined that the cause of death was an overdose of fentanyl.
Leeper said the child’s death was caused by the mother’s culpable negligence and “complete disregard” for his safety.
“The suspect knowingly did an act of which she should have known or reasonably should have known that could result in the death or serious bodily injury of her child,” Leeper said.
She was charged with aggravated manslaughter and possession of a controlled substance.
Deputies and the Florida Department of Children and Families are investigating.
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