Mom Charged In 3-Year-Old Son’s Methadone Overdose Death
Authorities have charged a Connecticut mother with manslaughter in connection with the overdose death of her 3-year-old son. According to the medical examiner, the toddler tragically died of acute methadone intoxication.
The incident occurred in Stafford back on April 22, but the mom was arrested yesterday after a state police investigation.
That morning, Jessica York, 24, called 911 because her son, Leon Lapierre, was unresponsive after she tried to wake him. EMTs evidently pronounced the boy dead at the scene.
In the medical examiner’s toxicology report that identified methadone in the boy’s blood, his death was classified as a homicide.
According to the Hartford Courant, the youngster may have gained access to methadone, a DEA Schedule II drug that is used to help individuals taper off from heroin or other opioids.
“State police suspect that the boy ingested liquid methadone that his mother had left on a night stand. She told a friend in a text message the night before Leon was found dead that her methadone was gone, the warrant says. York was not prescribed methadone, but bought it from a person who was legally receiving it from a dispensary on Broad Street in Manchester, according to the warrant.”
NBC Connecticut reports that the mom told detectives that she is a heroin addict. State troopers also described the home as filthy and filled with garbage and animal feces as well as what might allegedly be empty heroin envelopes.
In addition to second-degree manslaughter, the suspect who is the mom of two other young sons was charged with three counts of risk of injury to a minor and three counts of first-degree reckless endangerment. She is being held in custody subject to $500,000 bail. She was scheduled to be arraigned today in Rockville Superior Court.
Neither of the other children was harmed.
Mom arrested after 3-year-old dies from methadone overdose https://t.co/37Ou3I1hVS pic.twitter.com/YAZuPhq0qj
— New Britain Herald (@NewBritHerald) October 11, 2017
Social workers from the state Department of Children and Families had previously visited the home seven times, but York allegedly declined their assistance, NBC added.
The arrest warrant affidavit that details the investigation indicates that the nightstand was about 29 inches tall, which could make it easily accessible to a small child. The affidavit also indicates that on the morning in question, York allegedly told the 911 dispatcher that her son was cold, purple, and stiff, and that he had vomited. Cops also claim that she allegedly said “anything is possible” when they asked about her kids getting into the items on her nightstand.
Watch this space for updates as the case moves through the judicial system.
[Featured Image by M-Foto/Shutterstock]
