PORTLAND, Ore. — A Vancouver mother has been charged with first-degree manslaughter in the fentanyl overdose death of her 21-month-old baby in March.
On Monday, the Clark County Medical Examiner's Office sent out a news release confirming that the girl died of fentanyl toxicity. However, the manner of death was "undetermined."
According to court documents, Katherine Richards, 38, set the girl down for a nap in her crib around 3 p.m. on March 26. She'd check in on her periodically with a baby monitor. When she went to the crib again around 8:30 p.m., the girl was unresponsive and pronounced dead about an hour later. She did not appear to have suffered any injuries.
“The residence was cluttered and unkempt,” an investigator said. “There was garbage strewn throughout, moldy food in various places, and limited free space on the floors, counters, and furniture.”
In a small room in the basement, there was a space in the corner that contained drug paraphernalia, including a clear crystal rock that tested positive for methamphetamine. The space was occupied by a woman who had been staying at the house for the past several days, a friend of Richards.
According to Richards, the girl never went down there but had interacted with her friend that day. However, Richards told investigators that she was “always present” and did not think that her friend had any physical contact with the child.
Investigators later learned from toxicology that the girl had fentanyl as well as naloxone (Narcan) in her blood and urine, which was noted as "concerning" because it was not administered by any first responders.
Investigators returned to the house a few weeks later and spoke Richards. When told about the toxicology report, Richards replied "I'm f---ing careless." She then pointed to the friend who had been staying with the family as the explanation, saying that she must of dropped something on the floor and that her friend had been "smoking something off foil" in the living room the day before the girl's death.
Richards denied using fentanyl and told investigators that she had previously been a heroin user but hadn't done it in years. When pressed, Richards said she had used fentanyl only after her daughter's death. But her friend told investigators that the pair had done fentanyl together previously, court documents stated.
When investigators asked Richards about the naloxone found in the girl's system, she said she did it thinking that it couldn't hurt, according the court documents.
Officers questioned the friend staying with the family. She remembered Richards "freaking out" in the girl's room and calling for her to get the naloxone. When investigators told her that the girl had died from a fentanyl overdose, she appeared shocked and cried throughout the rest of the interview. She said she kept her drugs in a box in the basement, court documents stated.
On Sept. 9, Richards was charged with first-degree manslaughter in connection to her daughter's death.
