A 44-year-old Edmonds woman has been arrested on first-degree manslaughter domestic violence charges nearly four years after her 2-year-old child died following an incident in Lynnwood in which officials suspected fentanyl exposure and said the death was likely due to it. The arrest closes out a lengthy investigation that began in November 2022, when deputies responded to reports of an unresponsive toddler inside a Lynnwood-area apartment.
According to MyNorthwest.com, deputies performed lifesaving measures on the child before he was transported to Swedish Hospital in Edmonds, where he was pronounced dead. The outlet reports the child had been in his mother's car the evening before and the morning after his death, and that deputies later seized suspected fentanyl, suspected heroin, and other drug paraphernalia from the residence. Snohomish County Sheriff's deputies originally responded around 4 a.m. on Saturday, November 12, 2022, according to KING 5 News, which reported on the circumstances of the toddler's collapse and the sheriff's office response.
A Months-Long Forensic Investigation
The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office said the investigation continued for several months and involved numerous search warrants, the collection and processing of a large amount of forensic evidence, laboratory testing, toxicology testing, and an autopsy conducted by the Snohomish County Medical Examiner, per the mynorthwest.com report. Detectives referred first-degree manslaughter domestic violence charges to the Snohomish County Prosecutor's Office in July 2023, and prosecutors ultimately filed those charges after reviewing the lab and toxicology results along with the medical examiner's findings, authorities said.
The mother was arrested in the 23010 block of Highway 99 and booked into the Snohomish County Jail, the outlet reported. Washington Revised Code RCW 9A.32.060 addresses first-degree manslaughter, according to the Washington State Legislature. The filed charge is first-degree manslaughter domestic violence.
A Statutory Gap That Shaped the Charges
Prosecutors in fatal fentanyl exposure cases involving children have had to rely on manslaughter statutes rather than standard child endangerment laws because of a gap in state code. In a January 2024 memorandum to state lawmakers, the Seattle City Attorney's Office noted that Washington's felony child endangerment law, RCW 9A.42.100, historically covered methamphetamine exposure but omitted fentanyl, leaving non-fatal child exposure to synthetic opioids punishable only as a gross misdemeanor unless the child died.
A Washington State Department of Health document on high-potency synthetic opioids was prepared to fulfill requirements of Engrossed Senate Substitute Bill 6109, according to the Washington State Department of Health.
A Pattern Of Similar Cases In Snohomish County
This is not the first time Snohomish County prosecutors have filed manslaughter charges against a mother after a toddler's fentanyl death. In a case reported by FOX 13 Seattle, 34-year-old Morgan Lee Bassett was charged with manslaughter after her 18-month-old daughter died from acute fentanyl intoxication. The case involved evidence, laboratory testing and an autopsy.
The cases reflect a broader surge in opioid deaths across the county. Opioid-related deaths in Snohomish County rose 355% between 2019 and 2023, with opioids causing 269 of 334 overdose deaths in 2023 and fentanyl accounting for 95% of those opioid-related deaths, according to HeraldNet. In response, the Snohomish County Executive's Office announced in April 2024 the allocation of local recovery grants drawn from $28.9 million in county opioid settlement funds to combat rising synthetic opioid overdoses across the county.
Statewide, roughly 300 children under age 5 were poisoned by opioids between 2022 and 2024, with about 20% of those pediatric cases resulting in life-threatening complications, according to data from the Washington Poison Center published by KING 5 News. The mother faces a first-degree manslaughter domestic violence charge in Snohomish County, an allegation prosecutors will need to prove.
