9-month-old boy dies after heroin overdose
Police say mom, grandmother brought infant to get drugs
Police say a 9-month-old boy named Niyear was with his mother, grandmother and aunt July 26 when they drove from Curtis Bay to Baltimore in search of heroin.
The grandmother, 43-year-old Laurie Ann Taylor, the mother, 17-year-old Alexus Lorraine Taylor, and the aunt bought four heroin capsules and headed home, court records allege.
But when they returned to their residence in 7900 block of Chesapeake Drive, police said, one clear capsule was missing.
Baby Niyear died July 27 and became Anne Arundel County’s youngest ever overdose victim, according to Sgt. Jacklyn Davis, a police spokeswoman.
Authorities announced Thursday the arrests of Laurie and Alexus Taylor, who have been charged with child abuse resulting in death, manslaughter and reckless endangerment. Both were ordered held without bail. Neither hasanattorney listed in court records.
The monthslong investigation began when officers and firefighters responded around 9:30 a.m. July 27 to the Taylor residence in Curtis Bay for reports of a baby in distress, police said.
Police said paramedics tried to resuscitate the 9-month-old as they drove him to Baltimore Washington Medical Center.
Niyear Taylor was pronounced dead at the hospital, and homicide detectives returned to Chesapeake Drive, court records show.
Family members told detectives that the baby had been wheezing before falling asleep around 2 a.m. and was unresponsive when his her mother and grandmother awoke at 9:15 a.m., according to police. They called 911.
Anautopsy revealed heroin, morphine, fentanyl and one of its deadly derivatives in Niyear’s blood, liver and stomach, court records show. Further tests confirmed the infant ingested opioids.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined his cause of death as fentanyl intoxication, police said. Forensic pathologists ruled the manner of death was homicide.
Circuit Judge Donna Schaeffer signed off on a search warrant Aug. 14. Later that morning detectives returned to the Taylor residence, according to charging documents.
When detectives told Laurie and Alexus about the baby’s cause of death, Laurie’s eyes darted toward Alexus, who blurted: “I watched him. I had my eye on him the whole time,” charging documents say.
Detectives found empty gel capsules with heroin and fentanyl residue in every room in the house — more than 100 packages in total, police said. Police said they even discovered gel caps in the diaper bag.
As of Nov. 26, there had been 781 suspected opioid overdoses countywide, 125 of which were fatal, according to police data.