Colorado Mom Makes Her 5-Year-Old Daughter Drink From Bottle Contaminated With Meth

A mother in Colorado admitted to murdering her 5-year-old daughter by letting her drink from a bottle contaminated with meth. Stephanie Alvarado of Glenwood Springs pleaded guilty to the crime on Thursday.

Stephanie, her cousin Daniel Alvarado, and friend Bertha Ceballos-Romo were arrested on Thursday on charges of child abuse resulting in death. On the same day, Stephanie pleaded guilty to murder in the second degree.

Authorities said the Colorado mom will face 16 to 18 years in prison for the murder charge and up to six more years in prison for pleading guilty to criminal trespass involving domestic violence. Child abuse resulting in death is a class 2 felony punishable by up to 24 years in prison.

The victim, Sophia Larson, died on Dec. 11, 2019 from a methamphetamine overdose. The five-year-old drank from a water laced with meth and was not immediately brought to the hospital after the incident.

Prosecutors said Stephanie Alvarado deliberately waited for several hours before taking her daughter to the emergency room despite witnessing the effect of the meth on her child. After her meth intake, Sophia allegedly behaved strangely in their home, telling her mom she was seeing monsters and demons.

Stephanie, Daniel, and Ceballos-Romo told investigators that they were smoking meth in Stephanie’s home when Sophia drank from the meth-laced bottle. However, Daniel and Ceballos-Romo said they thought Sophie was possessed.

On Thursday, Sophie’s father, Alex Larson, went to court in-person to hear Stephanie take responsibility for their child’s death. “I don’t know how to explain the amount that I miss her, you know,” he said. “It’s not something that I really have the words for,” he added.

Stephanie Alvarado appeared remotely on a camera from the Garfield County Jail, where she has been detained for months. Larson told the police that Stephanie had been a good mother to Sophie until she became addicted to drugs in 2018. He also revealed that her drug addiction contributed to their split.

“I was genuinely concerned about Steph in the beginning,” he said. “I didn’t think we were going to bury my daughter. I thought we were going to bury her mom and it just took a turn for the worst.”