North Carolina girl, 14, dies of drug overdose after mom gives her heroin-fentanyl-meth cocktail
ONSLOW COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA: A mother is facing murder charges after she allegedly gave her 14-year-old daughter a fatal overdose of drugs that resulted in her death. New charges have been brought against Nancy Kellum after Haylee Wood died on February 15 because of the intake of a cocktail of heroin, meth, and fentanyl. Police arrested the 37-year-old after they failed to revive the teenager.
According to The Sun, police knew that a 12-year-old was also given the harmful drugs, but currently, there is no information about them. The fatal heroin Wood had was mixed with fentanyl — a synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine. The investigators reportedly said that Kellum’s daughter, a ninth class student at White Oak High School, also took methamphetamine. An autopsy revealed the teenager’s cause of death and stated that she died due to the cocktail of heroin, meth, and fentanyl.
After her arrest in February, the accused was initially charged with felony child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury and was ordered to be held on a $300,000 bond. However, on Monday, November 2, when the murder charge was brought, the bond was withdrawn. Kellum is currently behind bars and is expected to appear in court later this month.
In another incident, a mother from California was charged with murder after her two-year-old son died of acute fentanyl toxicity. Genesis Barrera-Galdamez has been slapped with second-degree murder charges along with charges for possession of a controlled substance for sale and child abuse resulting in great bodily injury after Jasani Kerry died on September 20.
The 22-year-old mother has been held at a $1.1 million bond. Barrera-Galdamez is yet to enter a plea. Meanwhile, an obituary for Kerry said that he “was a brief, beautiful gift from God who touched the lives of loved ones, and strangers alike.” It added: “He left footprints on all of our hearts. Baby Sani was such a special boy, whose smile brightened up any room and warmed everyone\'s hearts. Sani was always happy whether he was playing with his cars, or throwing balls. He also loved playing with balloons. Baby Sani was full of energy running up and down our hallways. He loved jumping on the bed. Watching him explore and excelling at all of his milestones was such a joy. He made us all very proud. Although his time with us was cut too short, Baby Sani leaves a lifetime of love and memories. He will live on through all of those who loved him dearly.”
A GoFundMe page has also been started to cover the funeral expenses. The message on the page stated, “My name is Cindy Tunales and along with my family and sister Genesis Barrera Galdamez, mother of baby Sani, we are Paying Tribute to my nephew Jasani Kerry Jr. who tragically lost his life on the morning of Sunday September 20th. The amount we are asking for is to cover his funeral expenses.”
Brentwood police Lieutenant Walter O’Grodnick said in a statement, “This tragic loss was completely preventable. As an agency, these types of investigations are extremely hard to handle and the emotional impact never gets any easier to process. Our hearts go out to Jasani, and the family members and friends impacted by his untimely death.”