After prosecutors say 11-month-old Liam Sauve died from ingesting a lethal dose of fentanyl, his mother and her boyfriend have been charged with 2nd degree homicide.
A New York mother and her boyfriend have been charged with second-degree manslaughter after an 11-month-old baby ingested a fatal dose of fentanyl, according to local reports.
On May 9, the Onondaga County 911 Center received a report of a baby in poor health in Syracuse, Chief Assistant District Attorney Melinda McGunnigle told local outlet Syracuse.com.
The baby, 11-month-old Liam Sauve, was taken to the hospital and where he was pronounced dead, McGunnigle said to the outlet.
According to McGunnigle, it was initially unclear if the death was accidental or criminal.
The district attorney said the Syracuse police opened an investigation and waited for the Onondaga County Medical Examiner’s office to determine the manner and cause of the child’s death, according to the Syracuse outlet.
The medical examiner’s report from July 18 ruled the death a homicide after determining Liam died from fentanyl toxicity, according to the outlet.
McGunnigle, who has worked as a prosecutor for 15 years, told Syracuse that this incident was a first for her.
“We were shocked when we got the ME’s report,” she said.
When local outlet CNY Central asked if Suave and Huynh gave the baby fentanyl to quiet him down, McGunnigle said that it is possible.
“Whether they gave it to him to get him to sleep or calm down, or the child, being 11 months, could have potentially gotten a hold of it himself,” said McGunnigle.
“Fentanyl is a very, very dangerous drug,” McGunnigle said to the outlet.
“We have had numerous fentanyl overdoses in Onondaga County... Nobody should be around fentanyl, but it should not be near children at all because it’s that dangerous.”
According to CNY Central, the district attorney said it still is not clear exactly how the incident happened — they just know he ingested it in some way.
The boy’s mother, Elizabeth Sauve, 31, and her boyfriend, Quyen Huynh, 38, were charged Thursday with second-degree manslaughter, according to the outlet.
According to inmate records, Sauve has been released from the Onondaga County Justice Center.
Huynh is scheduled for a court date on August 31, and is currently being held without bail at the Onondaga County Justice Center, per the records.
“It’s tragic, it’s horrific that a baby this young, in his own home,” McGunnigle said to CNY Central.
“The death was caused by the actions of people who are supposed to be taking care of him.”
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