Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Parents of child who died from fentanyl charged with murder

Prosecutors in Northern California have filed murder charges against the parents of a 15-month-old who died in May after she ingested fentanyl authorities believe her mother had been using

Via AP news wire
Saturday 06 August 2022 00:18 BST
Toddler Death Parents Charged
Toddler Death Parents Charged

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Prosecutors in Northern California filed murder charges against the parents of a 15-month-old toddler who died in May after she ingested fentanyl authorities believe her mother had been using.

Prosecutors on Thursday also charged Evan Frostick, 26, and Madison Bernard, 23, with child cruelty and tacked on a sentence-enhancing charge alleging their actions willfully caused the suffering of a child, the Press Democrat reported.

The couple, who police have described as boyfriend and girlfriend, were briefly arrested on suspicion of child cruelty on May 9, the day their daughter died, but they were released two days later pending further investigation to determine whether fentanyl played a role in the child’s death.

Frostick is being represented by the Sonoma County public defender Lynn Slater, who said Friday she took over the case Thursday and couldn't comment. It was not immediately known if Bernard has an attorney who can speak on her behalf. She is not represented by the public defender's office.

The Sonoma County Coroner’s Office determined last month that “acute fentanyl intoxication” caused the death of 15-month-old Charlotte Frostick.

According to the coroner’s report, Bernard used fentanyl and went to sleep while drugs and paraphernalia were on the bed she shared with Charlotte inside their Sonoma Avenue apartment.

Investigators believe Charlotte ingested the fentanyl by touching it and then possibly putting her hands in her mouth or eyes, the newspaper reported.

Charlotte Frostick died nearly three years after the opioid-related death of another Santa Rosa toddler.

In September 2019, fentanyl was blamed for the deaths of Patrick O’Neill, 29, and his 13-month-old son, Liam, who were discovered inside their Santa Rosa home.

Three defendants were charged with supplying O’Neill the opioids. They were convicted in federal court on lesser charges of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl.

In the city of Brentwood, a mother was charged with murder in Contra Costa County Superior Court after her 2-year-old son consumed fentanyl in November 2020. In July 2021, she pleaded no contest to one count of voluntary manslaughter and was later sentenced to 11 years in prison, court records show.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in