'Heroin all over the place': Asbury Park mom gets prison for death of her toddler

Kathleen Hopkins, Asbury Park Press
·3 min read
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FREEHOLD - It was bad enough Quanique Smith went to bed one night in January and left wax folds of fentanyl and heroin scattered around her bedroom, readily accessible to her 2-year-old son, a judge said Thursday.

But Smith also claimed she wasn't even high when she did it, Superior Court Judge Marc C. Lemieux noted.

"She had a clear mind and went to bed with a 2-year-old, with heroin all over the place," LeMieux said. "That's even worse, isn't it?"

The 2-year-old boy ingested some of the drugs and died on Jan. 5 as a result.

Quanique Smith stands during her sentencing before Superior Court Judge Marc C. Lemieux at the Monmouth County Courthouse in Freehold Thursday, September 7, 2023. She earlier pled guilty to the aggravated manslaughter of her 2-year-old son, who died after ingesting the heroin and fentanyl she left laying around.
Quanique Smith stands during her sentencing before Superior Court Judge Marc C. Lemieux at the Monmouth County Courthouse in Freehold Thursday, September 7, 2023. She earlier pled guilty to the aggravated manslaughter of her 2-year-old son, who died after ingesting the heroin and fentanyl she left laying around.

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The fact that Smith was sober when she went to bed that night and left drugs around her toddler was something Lemieux said he struggled with in sentencing Smith in accordance with a plea agreement she reached with the state.

Without the plea bargain, Smith would have faced 10 to 30 years in prison for aggravated manslaughter, which she pleaded guilty to in May.

In the end, Lemieux said the plea agreement was in the interest of justice, and he sentenced the 27-year-old Asbury Park woman to eight years in state prison.

Yet, the judge seemed disturbed by the totality of the circumstance surrounding the crime.

"This case is a nightmare," Lemieux said before he sentenced Smith.

Superior Court Judge Marc C. Lemieux presides over the sentencing for Quanique Smith at the Monmouth County Courthouse in Freehold Thursday, September 7, 2023. She earlier pled guilty to the aggravated manslaughter of her 2-year-old son, who died after ingesting the heroin and fentanyl she left laying around.
Superior Court Judge Marc C. Lemieux presides over the sentencing for Quanique Smith at the Monmouth County Courthouse in Freehold Thursday, September 7, 2023. She earlier pled guilty to the aggravated manslaughter of her 2-year-old son, who died after ingesting the heroin and fentanyl she left laying around.

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"When a child is born, the goal of a parent is to protect that child, no matter what, and even at your own detriment," the judge said.

He noted that Smith's mother and grandmother were aware that drugs were left in the house around the toddler and did nothing about it.

"i actually think that's a disgrace," he said.

"Your mom and her mom were not protecting you, and you were not protecting your 2-year-old child," Lemieux told Smith.

Stephanie Dugan, assistant Monmouth County prosecutor, said Smith woke up and noticed her son didn't look right, so she called 911. But when emergency responders arrived, she didn't offer that she had left illegal drugs accessible to the child. Only when a police officer asked her if it was possible the toddler could have ingested heroin did she acknowledge that.

Superior Court Judge Marc C. Lemieux listens to Stephanie Dugan, Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor, during the sentencing for Quanique Smith at the Monmouth County Courthouse in Freehold Thursday, September 7, 2023. Smith earlier pled guilty to the aggravated manslaughter of her 2-year-old son, who died after ingesting the heroin and fentanyl she left laying around.

At that point, first responders tried to save the child's life by administering Narcan, but the effort was unsuccessful, and the boy was pronounced dead, Dugan said.

On that same night, Smith "spent hours with police and didn't ask about the status of her son," only to be told by them that he was dead, Dugan said.

Smith's attorney, Allison Friedman, said Smith suffered from both drug addiction and mental illness, for which she was not receiving adequate treatment.

In fact, Smith acknowledged that her mental illness and addiction were affecting her children and asked for "a higher level of care," which was not forthcoming, Friedman said.

After her son's death, Smith was incoherent, grief-stricken and on suicide watch at the Monmouth County Jail, Friedman said.

The defense attorney asked for leniency so that Smith can get the help she needs and at some point be reunited with her other child, a 5-year-old daughter with special needs.

Before the judge handed down the sentence, Smith said she was sorry for what happened.

"I was in the height of my addiction and wasn't getting the help I needed," she said "I was blinded by my addiction.

"No punishment is greater than the pain I feel everyday and will feel for the rest of my life," she told the judge.

Lemieux told her, "This case is a poster board for why you should not do drugs."

Smith will have to serve 85% of the eight-year prison term, or six years, nine months and 22 days, before she can be considered for release on parole, under the state's No Early Release Act. Once she is released from prison, she will remain under parole supervision for another five years.

Kathleen Hopkins, a reporter in New Jersey since 1985, covers crime, court cases, legal issues and just about every major murder trial to hit Monmouth and Ocean counties. Contact her at khopkins@app.com

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Asbury Park NJ mother gets prison for toddler's drug death