The parents of an Ohio toddler who died in June from a drug overdose were arrested Wednesday and charged with involuntary manslaughter.
An autopsy said that 17-month-old Kaiden Wood died from “acute Buproprion and Duloxetine toxicity.” Buproprion and duloxetine are the generic names of Wellbutrin and Cymbalta, drugs used to treat depression.
Court records also show that the autopsy found trace amounts of cocaine and fentanyl in the boy’s system, WOOD reported.
Kaiden’s parents, 27-year-old Kyle Aaron Wood and 26-year-old Hope Christine Marshall, were arraigned Wednesday after and ordered held on $250,000 bonds each.
A probable cause affidavit filed in the case says that officers “found the residence to be in a general state of disarray with numerous hazardous items located throughout the residence” when they answered a call for a child not breathing on the morning of June 23.
“Three loose Wellbutrin pills were found scattered in the living room, with two on the floor and one on the coffee table,” the affidavit said. “A soup pot filled with vomit and a marijuana pipe were also located on the living room floor. One and one-third Xanax pills were located on the kitchen counter. One broken Acetaminophen pill was located on the floor of the hallway. A strawberry Breeze vape pen was located in the victim’s crib.”
Detectives returned to the home on August 30 for an additional search and found “five uncapped needles stuck into a mattress and an additional vape pen in a drawer of the coffee table.”
Marshall told investigators that the Wellbutrin found on the floor were from her prescription. Wood said that he saw the pills on the floor when he went to bed the night before the toddler died.
A report from the Kent County Medical Examiner’s Office said that Marshall reported last seeing Kaiden alive when he woke up at 7 a.m.
“He was fed some cheerios and was laid back in his crib around 8:00 a.m. At 10:00 a.m., she went to check on him and he was cold and blue in his crib. She removed him from the crib and placed him on the living room floor,” the report said.
Paramedic attempted to resuscitate the boy when they arrived, but “he was in full rigor mortis at the time of arrival of EMS,” the report said.
“He was pronounced deceased at 10:25 a.m. on 6/23/22,” it said.
Marshall and Wood are scheduled for another hearing on October 17. They face up to 15 years in prison if they’re convicted.
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[Featured image: Hope Christine Marshall, left, and Kyle Aaron Wood/Kent County Correctional Facility]