Three people have been charged in the death of a 23-month-old boy who died from an overdose of Carfentanil, fentanyl, and p-fluorofentanyl toxicity.
Edmonton Police say on Dec. 27 they charged the mother and her common-law partner, who isn’t the child’s biological father, with criminal negligence causing death. They turned themselves into police at the Northwest Division.
On Dec. 11, Edmonton Police arrested and charged the mother’s 20-year-old friend with criminal negligence causing death.
The charges are a result of a lengthy police investigation by Edmonton Police.
It was reported to police that on Sept. 15, 2023, at approximately 1 p.m., the toddler’s 34-year-old mother, allowed a 20-year-old female friend to care for her son. The female friend took the child for a walk near the family’s west Edmonton residence. Shortly thereafter, she noticed the young child was displaying signs of medical distress. She immediately returned to the residence with the child, where the mother and her common law partner, a 26-year-old man, were inside.
Over the next several hours, the three accused made attempts to remedy the young boy’s medical distress through different means, but were unsuccessful.
At approximately 6:30 p.m. that evening, the mother and her female friend took the toddler to a nearby medical clinic, where a clinic staff member noticed the child was unresponsive and immediately called 911. EMS responded and transported the boy to hospital, where he was declared deceased.
An autopsy was conducted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023, which included toxicology testing. On Thursday, Nov. 17, 2023, police received toxicology results from the Medical Examiner, which confirmed the cause of death an overdose of Carfentanil, fentanyl, and p-fluorofentanyl toxicity. The manner of death was confirmed to be accidental ingestion.
Following consultation with the Crown Prosecutors Office, EPS said they are not naming the accused or deceased involved in this investigation to protect the identity of other youth in the family.
