A five-year-old boy died after drinking apple juice laced with methamphetamine, after his mother left him in a Florida hotel room, authorities have said.
After having a sip of the bottle, the child reportedly told a babysitter that the drink “tasted weird” and spat it out. The child later began shivering, shaking and sweating. The child then became unconscious and later died.
Heather Fawn Opsincs, 37, was arrested in connection to the death and faces charges of aggravated manslaughter, according to Riviera Police Department.
On March 23, officers responded to reports of a child not breathing at a hotel. When cops arrived, they found the young boy receiving medical attention from paramedics. The unnamed child was taken to St. Mary's Hospital in critical condition and later died.
According to police, the child's mother, Opsincs, had left them alone in the hotel room, where the victim was able to access and ingest meth. Various drug paraphernalia and two empty apple juice bottles were recovered from the scene.
Court documents obtained by USA Today revealed that an anonymous individual, who claimed to be a babysitter for the child, said that he had been watching him while Opsincs had been outside.
According to the outlet, the babysitter saw the youngster take a bottle of apple juice from a table and drink it, but spat it out. The child went to the bathroom, came out, and began shivering, shaking and sweating, the court documents stated.
The child then became cold to the touch and had rashes forming on his skin, then began vomiting “black stuff” and having what appeared to be a seizure, per USA Today. The babysitter then began performing CPR before emergency responders arrived.
Opsincs told investigators the juice had not been opened and was in the refrigerator. She also said that the boy was on the autism spectrum, required special care and was never allowed to use the bathroom by himself.
Opsincs also allegedly told hospital staff that, two months earlier, the child licked bleach and she had had to call poison control.
The mom denied using recreational drugs recently, or ever – though she admitted to having edible mushrooms that she had not opened, authorities said.
She was then made to take a drug test and tested positive for meth. Opsincs said the test had been performed incorrectly and when tested a second time, she tested positive again.
Ospincs appeared in court Friday, and she was released on $100,000 bond.
Judge James Nutt characterized the case as "pretty egregious," according to WPTV. The judge said that in addition to having no access to drugs or alcohol, Opsincs must appear every other week to the courthouse, and submit to random drug testing at her own expense.
