None — JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A 2 year old is dead after police say the woman watching him left methadone in his sippy cup.
Two-year-old Masia Wright died after drinking out of his own sippy cup. He drank a dangerous dose of liquid methadone. Now, the woman who was supposed to be watching him, Dana Anderson, is charged with the baby's death.
It looks harmless and is something children use to drink out of all the time. It's what Anderson told police she put inside a child's sippy cup that has the Department of Children and Families outraged. "What concerns us is it's in a child's sippy cup, and they think it's really milk, water," said John Harrell with DCF.
"We were shocked. It's tragic it could happen," said Harrell.
Anderson is now charged with aggravated manslaughter. According to the police report, a 2 year old little boy reached for his sippy cup that Anderson put on the dresser inside this home, but she also left methadone in the glass. That's a drug used to curb heroin cravings. The police report says 80 miligrams were in the glass. We found out, that's more than four times the recommended daily dose for an adult.
Anderson isn't the baby's biological mother either. She's dating the baby's father. We found Anderson has several prior arrests and some are for drugs. DCF says that's why this should send a warning to all parents to know who's around your children. "Single parents, be thorough. Use caution on who you allow to watch your kids. There's times when we see dangerous things that have consequences like this. Someone could be fine in a dating situation, but not know how to care for kids," said Harrell.
According to the police report, Anderson admitted to police that she'd left the methadone in the child's cup. She's still in jail on a million dollars bond. The Department of Children and Families recommends you run a background check on anyone who watches your child. You can even call police agencies where that person lives to see if they have a criminal history.