A couple was arrested and faces charges of child neglect after a baby suffered from symptoms of an overdose.
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office states on Monday, Sept. 4, 2023, around 8:30 a.m., deputies were called to a home on Palm Street in East Naples in regard to a baby gasping for air.
The infant’s mother, Caitlin Smith, 30, and her sister were at the home during the incident.
Medics arrived and carried the baby to an ambulance, before giving him Narcan.
The baby was taken to NCH North Collier for further treatment.
The doctor told deputies this would only happen if the baby were exposed to an opioid substance.
According to the report, when questioned in a hospital consultation room by a doctor and deputy on the events, the detective noted that Smith showed a lack of emotion.
Hospital staff in the ER noted that Smith’s pupils were constricted, and she had slightly slurred speech.
After being told about the doctor’s concern about the baby ingesting an opioid, Smith states there were no drugs in the home.
When deputies spoke with her privately, Smith stated her fiance had left for work, and she gave the baby a bottle.
After changing his diaper, she got in the shower and left the baby in the pack-n-play.
However, the witness said while Smith was showering, they saw the baby lying on the floor near the bathroom door and realized something was wrong.
The witness added that the baby had something “small, soft, and dull gray” in his mouth.
Smith called 911 and followed instructions from the dispatcher to put the baby on the floor and tilt his head back.
Smith said that she does not do drugs and does not think that her fiance, Richard Mahoney, 45, does either.
When asked if the couple had a drug history, she explained she overdosed on methamphetamine years ago, causing her to have a stroke.
A search warrant was issued at the home for her to look for drugs and drug paraphernalia.
A cigarette pack was found with marijuana, one with mushrooms, and another with cut plastic straws with cocaine residue. A plastic baggie was also found with residue that tested positive for fentanyl.
According to the report, Smith admitted to snorting fentanyl the prior Friday inside her bathroom. Smith also told investigators that she would snort the substance a couple of times a day.
Her fiance, Mahoney, admitted to using fentanyl the day before the medical incident.
Smith explained she and Mahoney have been going to the methadone clinic, and he experiences withdrawals if he does not have the drug.
Smith said there were no more drugs in the home because she wanted her babies returned to her.
When asked about what was in the baby’s mouth, Smith explained, “It was like tinfoil, and that must have been what the fentanyl was on.”
Smith added that her fiance is “‘good about hiding stuff,’ but something may have fallen on the ground.”
When Mahoney was interviewed, he stated they were “making changes.” He said the aluminum foil would have been covered in the substance because that’s how he bought it.
The child’s initial drug screening at the hospital came back negative, but the doctors suspected a synthetic opioid, which would not have been included in the drug screen.
Four days after the incident, hair samples were taken from the baby and sent to a lab for analysis, which confirmed exposure to fentanyl.
The lab reported that fentanyl is a synthetic morphine and is reported to be 80 to 200 times as potent as morphine and has a rapid onset. Toxicity includes severe respiratory depression, seizures, hypotension, coma, and death.
Both Smith and Mahoney were arrested and charged with child neglect without great bodily harm.
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Source: Nbc-2
