Parents Charged In Methadone Death of Two Year Old Daughter

Alvin Thompson and Sinead McNair, both 25-years-old, have been charged with manslaughter in the death of their two-year-old daughter, Korri. The little girl died in August after ingesting methadone, the Baltimore Sun is reporting. Their trial is scheduled for October 7.

Baltimore police were called to the University of Maryland pediatric unit by doctors after an unconscious and unresponsive baby had been brought to the hospital. The parents had claimed that Korri drank “something” from a container outside their house, but changed their story after the dead baby’s toxicology reports tested positive for methadone.

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Apart from charges of manslaughter, Thompson and McNair face charges of reckless endangerment, child abuse resulting in death, and the neglect of a minor. When baby Korri was brought to the hospital on August 13, she was temporarily revived and transferred to the intensive care unit, where she died August 24. According to doctors, the methadone ingestion caused her brittle organs to fail.

Baltimore police obtained warrants for both parents and arrested them Tuesday. McNair is being held in lieu of a $250,000 bond while Thompson is in custody without bond. The 25-year-old man was charged in July in Baltimore County for negligent driving, drug possession, and driving under the influence of drugs.

A month before, he had received an 18-month suspended sentence in Baltimore County for burglary and was instructed to “totally abstain from illegal substances” and submit himself for drug abuse and alcohol checks.

Court documents showed the parents confessed that Korri had made her way to the bathroom around noon on August 13, where she found a bottle of methadone belonging to Thompson and drank it.

The parents admitted they noticed their daughter breathing thinly and scratching herself all over, but did not take her to a hospital until 15 hours later. By that time, she was slipping in and out of a coma and her condition had worsened. Baltimore Police Detective Donny Moses said the parents did not respond with the emergency that the incident deserved.

“Throughout the course of the investigation, they did learn at some point the baby had ingested methadone, which basically caused the child’s body to shut down. After interviewing the parents and everybody involved we felt reasonably strong that the parents are definitely responsible.”

Some neighbors expressed sadness over the unfortunate event, calling it a tragedy. A neighbor, David Butch said he believed the incident was a mistake.

“I think it was an accident. They were good people. They stayed to themselves. They took care of their daughter. When I heard about it, I said ‘It’s sad’.

This is not the first time that a child would die after ingesting methadone. According to the Daily Mail, Sophie Jones, a two-year-old girl, died after her drug dealer parents kept methadone in her fruit shoot bottles and Tom and Jerry cups.

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Paramedics found the little girl on the floor covered in vomit spatter and blood. She was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead after ingesting the heroin-like substance less than an hour later.

Her mother, Michelle King, 29, a drug dealer and heroin addict was selling her methadone so that she could buy other drugs like cocaine. Traces of cocaine were found on Sophie’s playthings following her death.

Michelle’s mother had noticed that her granddaughter was “unsteady on her feet” and expressed concerns to her daughter. After the mother left the house, Michelle called her and lied that she had asked for an ambulance. She knew at that point her daughter had ingested a lethal substance and that medical staff would find out and delayed help until the last minute.

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When the child was taken to the hospital, Michelle claimed she fell sick after drinking cider that the grandmother’s friend brought to their home. King allegedly sent a message to her partner, telling him to dispose of “all the meth bottles out back under the green thing” and sent a text to a drug user that owed her money.

Prosecutors say the defendants made a concerted effort to hide evidence of the crime and that they were totally responsible for Sophie’s death.

“It must have been a joint attempt by both defendants to clear up the house. They were acting together to clear the house of any incriminating evidence they were both aware she had been put into a deep slumber …they needed to protect themselves.”

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