A 37-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman were arrested Wednesday in Mount Vernon in connection with the death of their 2-year-old child, who died last month after his mother found him unconscious inside a home on North 21st Street near East Division Street and called 911. Police say a preliminary drug screen conducted during the child's autopsy came back positive for fentanyl, though the final cause and manner of death remain pending.
Officers were called to the North 21st Street home on Sept. 16 after a report of an unconscious toddler, according to FOX 13 Seattle. First responders arrived and attempted life-saving measures, but the child did not survive. Mount Vernon police opened a death investigation that led detectives to obtain arrest warrants for the boy's parents three weeks later.
Arrests Made Without Incident at Family Home
The parents were arrested without incident shortly before 10 a.m. Wednesday at their residence in the 400 block of North 21st Street, according to Cascadia Daily News. The outlet reported the arrests came on suspicion of first-degree manslaughter, violation of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act and reckless endangerment. FOX 13 Seattle's account of the allegations largely matched that framing, describing the arrests as being made on charges of first-degree manslaughter, reckless endangerment and violation of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act.
Mount Vernon police detectives reported finding suspected drugs and drug paraphernalia inside the residence, including in the couple's bedroom, and said samples were sent to the state laboratory for testing. A probable cause statement alleges that video showed the parents using a torch and foil to smoke a substance in their bedroom overnight before the child's death, though that detail was attributed at medium confidence in the reporting reviewed.
Toxicology and Cause of Death Still Pending
Investigators have not finalized how the toddler died. Both the official cause and manner of death and the final toxicology report remain pending, and the death investigation remains open.
Under Washington law, first-degree manslaughter is classified as a class A felony, according to RCW 9A.32.060. Separately, RCW 9A.36.050 defines reckless endangerment as recklessly engaging in conduct that creates a substantial risk of death or serious physical injury to another person.
Part of a Broader Pattern Across the Region
The Mount Vernon case echoes other fatal child drug-exposure cases reported around Washington in recent years. FOX 13 Seattle has reported separately on a Lynnwood mother facing a first-degree manslaughter charge nearly four years after a 2-year-old boy died after being found unresponsive at her home. KOMO News has also reported on a Seattle mother charged with manslaughter after her 11-month-old son died of a fentanyl overdose in 2024, and on a separate case involving a Seattle woman charged after her 1-year-old son died following suspected fentanyl exposure.
Mount Vernon police are asking anyone with information about the case to call the department at (360) 336-6271 as the investigation continues.
