A 14-month-old baby reportedly died after the infant was exposed to methamphetamine and fentanyl before being left unsupervised around the house by the child's drug addict parents.
The accused couple, Andrea Smarr, 26, and John Valiquette, 24, were arrested last week and charged with one count each of aggravated negligence manslaughter in the death of their 14-month-old baby, James Valiquette, after the child died from an overdose of methamphetamine and fentanyl some months ago, Law & Crime reported.
On Jan. 6, a detective with the New Port Richey Police Department responded to a home located in the 5000 block of Hillside Drive to investigate a call about a deceased child. When the officer reached the home, the detective discovered James' body in a “pack and play” style crib. The child's remains did not have any obvious signs of injury but a thick milky mucous was leaking from the victim's mouth and nose.
After the authorities searched the residence, they found several items that were “indicative of narcotic use” such as small scraps of burnt tinfoil and smoking pipes, and actual narcotics, including methamphetamine and fentanyl, Orlando Sentinel reported.
The investigators also found a surveillance camera located in the living room that allegedly captured the events that led to the victim’s death. The video showed Valiquette falling asleep on the floor on Jan. 5 at approximately 9:55 p.m.
The newborn victim can be seen crawling around the living room unsupervised, before slipping between the sofa and coffee table. There, the child picked up what appeared to be a scrap of tin foil from the floor. He then placed the foil in his mouth and got onto the sofa.
Around five minutes later, Smarr was seen walking into the living room carrying a pipe which is “commonly used to smoke methamphetamine.”
Smarr then brought the infant into the baby's room and placed the newborn in the crib. A camera that was located in the victim’s room allegedly showed that the child was still moving at the time he was placed in the crib.
When the officers reviewed more of the surveillance footage, they found footage of Valiquette dropping the drugs that the child ingested in the early morning hours of Jan. 5.
In the video, Valiquette can be seen sitting down on the sofa and falling asleep dropping the piece of tin foil onto the living room floor, in between the sofa and coffee table. The foil was reportedly the same piece of tinfoil that the victim later placed in his mouth before he was put to bed.
A medical examiner who conducted the child's autopsy determined that the baby died due to “multi-drug toxicity.” He added that high levels of methamphetamine and fentanyl were both found in the baby's system.
Following the revelation, police arrested Smarr and Valiquette on a charge of aggravated manslaughter of a child each. Valiquette was also arrested on multiple charges of possession of methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl on March 15.
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