The police say a 5-year-old boy died after drinking from a bottle of apple juice that contained meth. A woman in southeast Florida is being charged with murder.
Court records received by USA TODAY on Monday show that 37-year-old Heather Fawn Opsincs has been charged with one count of aggravated manslaughter of a child.
She was first taken to the Riviera Beach Police Department to be processed, and then she was taken to the Palm Beach County Jail.
Opsincs’ public attorney did not respond right away to requests for comment Monday afternoon. However, online court records show that she has an appearance set for April 22.
The kid spit out the juice because it “tasted weird.”
Court records show that the charge comes from something that happened in Riviera Beach on March 23.
At 5:37 p.m. that day, someone called the Riviera Beach Police Department to report that a child at Opsincs’ apartment wasn’t breathing.
When police arrived, they talked to a person whose name was blacked out in court records but who said he was a babysitter.
Court records show that Opsincs was reportedly outside washing a cooler while the babysitter watched the boy in the apartment.
The child care worker saw the boy drink apple juice from a bottle that was on a table. The child spit out the juice and told the nanny that it “tasted weird.” Records from the court show that the child went to the bathroom and then came out shaking, shivering, and sweating.
The babysitter then saw that the kid was cold to the touch and getting spots on his skin. The babysitter began CPR when she saw that the child was stiffening up and his head was turned down. Court records show that the boy was also throwing up “black stuff” and acting like he was having a seizure.
She told the police that the apple juice the child drank had been in the fridge and hadn’t been opened.
Court records show that when Opsincs found out what was going on with the boy, she went into his room and saw him acting like he was having a seizure. Court records show that his lips were going blue and that his heart rate wasn’t very strong.
The hospital tested the woman twice for meth twice.
To look into the case, police went to Saint Mary’s Medical Center and talked with someone from the Department of Children and Families there. They also got a message from Opsincs.
Police saw the child at the hospital and found healed bruises on the left and right sides of his rib cage. They also saw a swell that looked like a “fresh bruise” above his left eye, according to court papers.
Ops told the police that the boy had autism and needed extra care. He was never allowed to go to the bathroom by himself. She told police that she met the babysitter six months ago. Twice or three times a week, he watches the boy.
Opsincs is said to have told the emergency room doctor that two months earlier, a child had eaten bleach and poison control had to be called.
When police asked Opsincs if she had recently used drugs for fun, she said she hadn’t. Documents from court show that she denied ever using drugs but did say she had edible mushrooms that she hadn’t opened yet.
Opsincs was given a field test by someone from the Department of Children and Families, and she tested positive for methamphetamines. Opposite said the test was done wrong, and when it was done again, it showed that she still had methamphetamines in her system.
