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Pennsylvania one-year-old boy found dead overdosed on fentanyl at home, parents charged with homicide

Thomas Snelsire and Tracy Humphreys were in possession of heroin, crack cocaine, marijuana, pills, open containers of alcohol, and other drug paraphernalia
PUBLISHED SEP 25, 2020
Thomas Snelsire and Tracy Humphreys (Allegheny County Jail)
Thomas Snelsire and Tracy Humphreys (Allegheny County Jail)

BALDWIN, PENNSYLVANIA: A couple has been arrested and is facing a number of charges after their toddler son was found dead due to drug overdose. Thomas Humphreys was found dead at his home on September 13. Lab tests discovered that the one-year-old had Fentanyl in his blood. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office declared his death a homicide. Investigators responded to a home on Oakleaf Drive on September 13 afternoon after receiving an anonymous 911 call that the baby was not breathing, The Sun reported. They found the infant lying on a blanket at the porch. His mother Tracy Humphreys was with the child while the father Thomas Snelsire was lying in the roadway near the house. Investigators tried desperately to revive the tot but failed. They also said he had been dead “for a long period of time,” KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh reported.

During a search of the house, investigators found the couple was in possession of heroin, crack cocaine, marijuana, pills, open containers of alcohol, and other drug paraphernalia. In addition, they also discovered an open bottle of Seagrams next to a container of baby snacks, and on the floor saw what “appears to be a ‘heroin kit.’” Six bricks of heroin and numerous empty stamp bags were also found, according to a criminal complaint. According to investigators, an older boy, who lived with the couple at the same house, was also tested and cocaine metabolite was found in his system by the UPMC Children’s Hospital.

“It breaks my heart, definitely. It just makes me think ‘what the hell has this world come to?'” neighbor Vince Peluso said. Both the parents have been charged with criminal homicide, endangering the welfare of children, and several counts each of drug possession and possession with intent to deliver after they handed themselves into Allegheny County Police Thursday morning, September 24.

Tracy’s lawyer, James Sheets, said, “Any homicide is tragic but when you have a situation where the victim is as young as 1, this is particularly tragic. These are allegations at this point. We will work the case as it winds its way through the system.”

In another incident, a couple in China sold their newborn baby for a few thousand dollars to purchase methamphetamine and new phones. The drug-addict parents, Mr Wang and Ms Zhong, were jailed. They sold their son to another couple, who were facing trouble conceiving a baby themselves. The parents met the buyers - Lan and Chen - online in February 2019 and were arrested soon after they struck the deal because they had been on their radar due to their history of drug abuse. 

Mr Wang and Ms Zhong were found guilty of child trafficking by the Shizhong District People's Court of Neijiang. Wang was given five years in jail while his wife, who had earlier been jailed for several crimes, including providing venues for drug users, robbers, and child traffickers, was awarded 13 years. Their baby was reportedly taken away from Lan and Chen and given to the grandparents of Wang and Zhong.

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