Maine toddler, 3, dies after ingesting fentanyl. Mother indicted on murder and manslaughter charges.
A mother in Maine has been charged with murder nearly three months after her 3-year-old daughter died at a hospital.
Hillary Goding, 29, called 911 just before 11 p.m. on June 4 and reported the toddler was unresponsive and not breathing. Emergency responders rushed the child from her home in Old Town to Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center, where she passed away on June 6, Portland’s WCSH reported.
The same day, police arrested Goding on a manslaughter charge. The following month, a judge revoked Goding’s $50,000 bail after she allegedly violated a no-contact order and communicated with a potential witness in the case at least a dozen times, The Bangor Daily News reported, citing a police report.
The report claims Goding’s daughter ingested what is believed to be heroin on June 3 and became lethargic and had difficulty breathing. Goding, the report alleges, only called for help after the little girl stopped breathing. A drug test administered on the child later came up positive for fentanyl.
On Aug. 27, a Penobscot County grand jury indicted Goding on counts of depraved indifference murder, manslaughter and violation of condition of release, according to the station.
"While the defendant may not have any prior criminal history, she certainly has a prior episode regarding the conduct of this nature with the child,” Maine Assistant Attorney General Lisa Bogue said at the mother’s Aug. 30 arraignment.
Bogue added: “And, obviously, the nature of the allocation and the amount of time for the defendant to reach out to get any medical attention and care for the child was a significant period of time and obviously contributed to, from the state's perspective, her death.”
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