Parents Charged After Their Toddler Ingests Deadly Fentanyl

Two parents in Green Bay, Wisconsin, have been charged with neglect after their 18-month-old son died from ingesting fentanyl in May.

The child’s father, 22-year-old Derrick Young told police that he, the toddler’s mother 22-year-old mother Tyana Putzlocker and the toddler laid down for a nap on May 3. When the parents woke up and tried to find their son, he was not breathing.

They called police to their apartment on South Taylor Street. The child was unresponsive and later died. An autopsy revealed the “presence of illicit fentanyl in the decedent’s system is a contributing factor to the cause of death.”

After her arrest, Putzlocker told investigators she was unaware of how the toddler got ahold of the drug. She theorized that he could have found it while he was doing laundry with her.

Young admitted to police that he was addicted to fentanyl and actively used and sold it. He told investigators that he and Putzlocker would do fentanyl together typically in the basement of their apartment, but sometimes did in their bathroom. He also disclosed that he had fentanyl pills located in the bathroom, believing the child found one of the pills.

Putzlocker made an appearance in court Friday where a $10,000 bail was set. She is expected to appear in court again on Wednesday. Young was also in court Friday, with a set bail of $25,000.

In November, Young was charged in November with maintaining a drug trafficking place and drug possession. An arraignment was scheduled Friday for these charges but no details have been released, according to WLUK-TV.

If either are convicted on the child neglect resulting in death count, they face a maximum sentence of 25 years.