Parents in Minnesota are facing charges related to the fentanyl overdose death of their one-year-old baby girl in December of 2023.
St. Paul police responded to a report of a child not breathing on Dec. 1, 2023, KROC News reported, citing a criminal complaint filed this week in Ramsey County Court.
“Where’s the Narcan?” a voice could be heard in the background of the 911 call, according to the complaint.
Police officers arrived at the home to find medics trying to help the baby, who appeared to have ingested something, according to the report. The baby girl’s father and grandmother were at the home at the time but said they did not know what the baby ingested.
The complaint alleges that the baby’s mother, 20-year-old Tessa Jean Vorlicky, fled the home on foot before officers arrived at the scene. She was ultimately found and detained a short time later, according to the report.
The baby was transported to the hospital where she was pronounced brain dead on Dec. 5, the report states.
Officers executed two search warrants of the home, where they found 0.2 grams of suspected methamphetamine and a baggie of other suspected drugs. They also reportedly found several pieces of burnt tinfoil, drug paraphernalia, and narcotic residue, as well as dog feces on the floor of the home, according to the report.
During the investigation, police discovered a hold was placed on the baby when she was born because Vorlicky was using fentanyl at the hospital while she was in labor, according to the complaint.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy and found that the baby girl died of acute fentanyl toxicity. The medical examiner found fentanyl and non-fentanyl drugs in the baby’s system, as well as a folded piece of tinfoil in her colon, the complaint states.
Vorlicky is facing two counts of second degree manslaughter. The child’s father, 36-year-old Derrick Marshawn Harrison, is facing a felony child endangerment charge, the report states.
“He was not at the home at the time of the overdose but admitted to knowing about Vorlicky’s drug use and acknowledged the child could’ve been left in a safer place,” according to the complaint.
Vorlicky is being held on $150,000 bail, and Harris is being held on $50,000 bail, according to the report.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.