Toddler dies from overdose 3 weeks after return to parental custody, Florida cops say
Nearly three weeks after a 15-month-old child was returned to parental custody, he overdosed on a lethal combination of illicit drugs, Florida authorities said.
An investigation has led to manslaughter charges against his parents, 37-year-old Kelli Starling and 48-year-old Daniel Miller, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office announced May 2.
Neither of their attorney’s information was available in Marion County court records as of May 3.
Daltin Lee Miller came into this world with ”drugs already in his system” and was removed from his parents’ custody for over a year, Lt. Paul Bloom with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said in a news conference.
On Feb. 9, Daltin was returned to his father’s custody on the condition that his mother “leave the residence due to her use of drugs,” but she came back home a few weeks later, deputies said.
Then Daltin started getting sick, his parents said. They told investigators their son had been congested and wasn’t sleeping well, according to deputies.
Then on March 1, he stopped breathing, and they called 911, according to the Bloom. Daltin was pronounced dead at the home in Ocala.
As forensics officials checked out the home, they found drugs in “easy reach of a curious toddler,” Bloom said.
The child’s aunt and uncle told WCJB they raised the boy since birth and protested his return to parental custody.
“I begged and pleaded and screamed from the rooftops that it was not safe for him and nobody listened,” Heather Thomas told the outlet in March.
She said it didn’t seem real.
“The decision to reunify a child with their parent involves many entities, including the judiciary,” a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Children and Families told McClatchy News.
“It occurs after the parent has engaged in services and demonstrated evidence of behavior change,” the spokesperson said. “Our Department is deeply saddened by the untimely death of this child and will continue working with law enforcement as needed.”
Further information is confidential under Florida law, the department said.
The medical examiner concluded the child died from “acute toxicity due to the combined effects of fentanyl, methamphetamine and xylazine (a tranquilizer used in the veterinarian field for large livestock and commonly added to fentanyl to enhance the effects),” deputies said after reviewing the report April 22.
The drugs were found in his blood and liver, indicating he consumed them, the medical examiner said.
A warrant was issued for the parents’ arrest, and they were taken into custody at their home on May 1 and each charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child.
“These detectives spoke up for somebody’s voice that was hushed by illicit drugs,” Bloom said. “Poor Daltin can’t speak up, but these detectives did a fine job of doing that for him.”
The parents are being held without bond in Marion County jail.
Ocala is about an 80-mile drive northwest from Orlando.
If you or a loved one shows signs of substance use disorder, you can seek help by calling the national hotline at 1-800-662-4357 or find treatment using SAMHSA's online locator.
Parents’ housemates charged in fentanyl overdose death of 1-year-old, CA officials say
2-year-old boy overdoses on ‘unimaginable’ combination of drugs, Pennsylvania cops say
4-year-old dies of suspected heroin overdose, Missouri police say. Mom is charged
