The parents of a 16-month-old were arrested after she died from fentanyl exposure, and the child’s grandmother was also arrested, prosecutors said.
Sullivan County’s Acting District Attorney Brian Conaty told WNBC-TV that Jimmie Luvert and Lisa Keitt were indicted on second-degree manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child.
Akasha Luvert died while her family was at the Knights Inn Motel on May 2. A second child was also injured but is recovering.
Police said the couple smoked fentanyl in front of their children and then passed out.
Conaty said that her parents, 41-year-old Jimmie Luvert and 26-year-old Lisa Keitt, were indicted for felony second-degree manslaughter and two counts of misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child.
49-year-old Jacob McCoy was also charged with felony third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance for allegedly selling the fentanyl to the parents.
The child’s grandmother, 54-year-old Lisa Fedrico, was also charged with endangering the welfare of a child after investigators said she smoked crack cocaine in front of the child before her death.
On Thursday, Luvert cursed at a news camera that was recording him as he was taken by police to make an appearance in court. Keitt said nothing when it was her turn to go inside the building.
Keitt’s attorney said that she was very remorseful.
“She’s gonna be living a life sentence of guilt one way or another,” said Gerald Gray to the Billings Gazette.
Conaty also accused the county attorney general of neglecting to protect the child on previous incidents.
“I learned that CPS never questioned the removal of these children on three separate occasions and when CPS brought these concerns to their legal branch, the county attorney’s office, the county attorney himself, Mike Maguire, refused to institute removal proceedings as requested,” he said.
“It was further learned under his regime he created a culture of widespread apathy that has discouraged the workers from bringing forth appropriate requests to remove children,” Conaty added.
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