A 31-year-old California mother was arrested Tuesday after authorities said that fentanyl played a role in her 17-month-old child’s death.
Deputies responded around 3:30 p.m. to a report of a juvenile needing medical aid in the 100 block of 8th Street in Norco, the Riverside County Sheriff's Office said. Officials said deputies found a 17-month-old girl who was not breathing.
Deputies and Cal-Fire immediately began life-saving measures, but the child remained unresponsive, according to authorities. The girl was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators believed the death was suspicious and contacted the department’s homicide unit.
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The girl’s mother, Jennifer Johanna Allen, was later arrested for murder after homicide investigators obtained evidence showing fentanyl was involved, the sheriff’s office said.
Allen was being held at the Robert Presley Detention Center. Her bail was set at $1 million, according to online jail records. The investigation into Allen and the death of her 17-month-old child is ongoing.
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, "is approximately 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin as an analgesic," according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
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Law enforcement across the country has been aggressive in seizing the deadly opioid and arresting those illegally smuggling the drug into the U.S. In cases where fentanyl results in the death of a person, authorities have been pursuing murder charges.
Officials in Riverside County have more than 20 fentanyl investigations pending countywide that involve murder charges, Patch reported.
