Who is Lauren Ashley Baker? Mother accidentally murdered 2-year-old son with fentanyl bought with stimulus check
A two-year-old toddler died on Thursday, March 18, after his mother, Lauren Ashley Baker, left the drug fentanyl in her purse while she slept after taking a shot. The little child found and consumed the drug that had allegedly been bought with Baker's stimulus check.
Baker reportedly woke up after the boy's father got home and found their son not breathing. She has since been charged with murder.
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Who is Lauren Ashley Baker?
The 33-year-old Baker is from Ludlow, Kentucky. She was charged with murder for purchasing fentanyl and leaving it in her purse, where her child could easily access it. Her two-year-old son consumed the fentanyl from her purse after she took a shot of it and had fallen asleep in their northern Kentucky home.
WCPO reports that the boy's father came home and found his child was not breathing. According to WCPO, the Ludlow Police Department said that officers and fire crews had responded to a 911 call on Stokesay Street in Ludlow at around 3.44 pm on March 18. After first responders found the child had gone in to a respiratory arrest, he was rushed to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, before he was declared dead there.
Baker's murder charges
The woman, charged with murdering her son, handed over the fentanyl that was still left from her purse to the officers, cops confirmed. The same substance had been found on the bed, and an empty Narcan packaging was also present at the scene. Police revealed that Baker confessed she had purchased the highly-addictive drug in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Saturday, March 13. She had used some of her money from one of the stimulus checks received.
After buying the drug known to be 10 times more potent than morphine, Baker brought it back with her to Ludlow, to share the purchase with two others. It's yet unknown how much fentanyl her little son had consumed. Baker has been charged with murder, importing fentanyl, and trafficking in a controlled substance. She is being held without bond at the Kenton County Detention Center, scheduled to appear in court on Friday, March 19.
London toddler dies from fentanyl consumption
News of this tragic death comes less than a month after a 21-month-old girl died after ingesting fentanyl, while the father took a cigarette break in the middle of performing CPR on his child at a Londonderry truck stop. As reported previously by MEAWW, the parents, who are facing charges of negligent homicide, manslaughter and more, are Mark Geremia, 32, of Northfield, and Shawna Cote, 29, of Tilton. The two were arrested on Tuesday, February 23, in Northfield after the autopsy conducted on the baby girl showed that she died of acute fentanyl intoxication.
Speaking of the incident caught on security footage, which shows the mother disposing off a fentanyl coated book into a nearby trash receptacle, Assistant County Attorney Kristin Vartanian said, “We have two individuals who acted with complete indifference to the value of their daughter’s life at every step of the way in this matter." He added, “They failed to call 911, they failed to make meaningful life-saving efforts, taking breaks for cigarette smoking, and busying themselves with disposing of evidence. Their focus was entirely on themselves and preserving themselves.”