A 14-month-old baby dies after ingesting methadone in France: his parents, former drug addicts, indicted

 Steph Deschamps / May 29, 2021

The parents of a 14-month-old baby were indicted Thursday for manslaughter, reports Le Parisien. Their child died after ingesting methadone, a drug supplied to drug addicts in the withdrawal phase.

The baby of the couple of ex-drug addicts died at the Hospital of Feurs (Loire), shortly after being admitted for respiratory distress. The analyses revealed an important concentration of methadone of 453 ng/ml in the urine, declared David Charmatz, the prosecutor of the republic of Saint-Etienne, adding that the autopsy confirmed a drug overdose having led to the death.

The parents, known to the law for drug-related offenses, have been charged with manslaughter and placed under judicial supervision, reports Le Parisien.The other child of the couple, aged three, has been provisionally placed.