A southeastern Florida woman is facing a manslaughter charge after authorities say a 5-year-old boy drank from a bottle of apple juice that contained meth and died.
Heather Fawn Opsincs, 37, has been charged with one count of aggravated manslaughter of a child, according to court documents obtained by USA TODAY Monday.
She has been taken to the Riviera Beach Police Department for processing and later transported to the Palm Beach County Jail.
A public defender for Opsincs did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday afternoon, but she has a court appearance scheduled for April 22, per online court records.
Child said juice ‘tasted weird’ and spit it out
The charge stems from a March 23 incident in Riviera Beach, court documents show.
Someone called the Riviera Beach Police Department around 5:37 p.m. that day about a child who wasn’t breathing at Opsincs’ apartment.
When officers arrived, they spoke to an individual whose name was redacted in court documents but identified himself as a babysitter.
Opsincs was allegedly outside washing a cooler while the babysitter was watching the boy inside the apartment, court documents show.
The babysitter saw the boy grab a bottle of apple juice from a table and drink it. According to the babysitter, the child said the juice “tasted weird” and spit it out. The child went to the bathroom, came out, and began shivering, shaking and sweating, court documents show.
The babysitter then noticed the child was cold to the touch and had rashes forming on his skin. When the babysitter noticed that the child was stiffening up and his head was tilted down, they began to perform CPR. The boy was also vomiting “black stuff” and having seizure-like symptoms, court documents show.
She told investigators the apple juice the child drank hadn’t been opened and had been in the refrigerator.
When Opsincs found out what was happening with the boy, she went inside the apartment and saw him having seizure-like symptoms, court documents show. His lips were also turning blue and he didn’t have a strong pulse either, court documents show.
Woman tested positive for meth twice at hospital
Officers went to Saint Mary’s Medical Center to look into the case and there, they met with a representative from the Department of Children and Families. They also got a statement from Opsincs.
Investigators saw the child at the hospital and noticed healed bruises on the left and right side of the rib cage area, a swell as a “fresh bruise” above his left eye, per court documents.
Opsincs told investigators the boy was on the autism spectrum, required special care and was never allowed to use the bathroom by himself. She told investigators she met the babysitter six months ago and he watches the boy two to three times a week.
Opsincs allegedly told the emergency room doctor that there had been an incident two months prior where the child licked bleach and she had to call poison control.
Investigators asked Opsincs if she had used recreational drugs recently and she said no. She denied that she had ever used any drugs but did admit to having edible mushrooms she hadn’t opened yet, according to court documents.
A representative from the Department of Children and Families had Opsincs undergo a field test and she tested positive for methamphetamines. Opsincs said the test was done incorrectly and when tested a second time, she again tested positive for methamphetamines.
Authorities said home where child ingested meth was ‘deplorable’
Once authorities secured a search warrant for Opsincs’ apartment, they found several glass cylinder pipes that tested positive for methamphetamines, as well as rotting food and trash.
Calling her apartment “unkempt” and “rather deplorable,” investigators said she failed to provide proper care, adequate supervision and services necessary to care for the child.
Investigators said in the court documents that she knew the child needed special care and attention after past incidents but chose to leave him with someone who may not have known this.
“Her negligence exposed (the child) to dangerous drugs and an inhabitable environment that caused his death,” the court documents read.
Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY’s NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Florida woman charged after boy drank apple juice containing meth