GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — The parents of a Green Bay toddler who died after ingesting fentanyl have been charged with child neglect resulting in death.
According to a criminal complaint, the father of the 18-month-old child told police that he, the toddler's mother and the boy laid down for a nap on May 3 and when he woke up he found the child wasn't breathing.
An autopsy showed the “presence of illicit fentanyl in the decedent’s system is a contributing factor to the cause of death.”
The mother, 22-year-old Tyana Putzlocker, told investigators she didn't know how her son got the fentanyl, but theorized he may have found the drug while he was with her while she was doing laundry in the basement.
Prosecutors say Young had a different story, WLUK-TV reported.
“Derrick admitted to using and being addicted to fentanyl and also admitted to selling fentanyl. Derrick was using and selling fentanyl at the time of his son’s death. Derrick and Tyana typically smoked fentanyl in the apartment basement but would sometimes smoke in the apartment bathroom. Derrick said he kept fentanyl pills in the apartment closet and if his son got exposed to fentanyl, there was no other explanation other than it being his pills,” the complaint states.
Young was charged in November with maintaining a drug trafficking place and drug possession.
Putzlocker is being held on $10,000 cash bond. Young's bond has been set at $25,000 cash. Court records do not list an attorney for either defendant.
