A Pennsylvania woman is facing murder charges after her 2-year-old son was found mysteriously dead, and an investigation revealed he had ingested the powerful narcotic painkiller vicodin.
Lehigh Valley Live reports that Jennifer Clarey of Bucks County has been charged with criminal homicide following the late August death of her 2-year-old son Mazikeen Curtis.
According to court records obtained by the news outlet, Clarey and her toddler son were found at their Tullytown home on August 25. Maziekeen was unresponsive and his body cold; his mother was next to him on a blood-covered bed with injuries to her wrists.
According to arrest records obtained by Lehigh Valley Live, officers believe the suspect’s injuries were consistent with a suicide attempt.
Police had responded to the home after a social worker performed a wellness check that raised concerns. According to the report, the suspect appeared intoxicated and was uncooperative. Officers who arrived less than half an hour later to the home found a key and entered the home themselves when no one answered the door.
A subsequent investigation found the the drug hydrocodone, the active ingredient in the narcotic painkiller Vicodin, in the little boy’s sippy cup. An autopsy determined the he died from an overdose of the drug.
Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub announced the charges against Clarey in a Tuesday news conference, according to NBC Philadelphia.
“Plain and simple, this was murder,” Weintraub said.
Clarey is reportedly behind held at Bucks County Prison without bail.