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MILWAUKEE (BFMG) — A 31-year-old Milwaukee woman is charged in the death of her 3-month-old son after investigators found fentanyl and other drugs in the infant’s system, according to a criminal complaint.
Tashae Goodman faces charges of first-degree reckless homicide and chronic neglect of a child resulting in death.
Police say Goodman called 911 at 3:41 a.m. March 22, reporting her infant was not breathing and telling dispatchers she had slept on the child. First responders arrived at a residence near North 19th Street and West Fairmount Avenue and attempted life-saving measures, but the infant was pronounced dead.
Investigators determined the child had no known medical conditions and had not recently been ill. Goodman told authorities she fed the baby every three to four hours and routinely kept the child with her, including while sleeping.
According to the complaint, Goodman said she spent March 21 at home with her 10-year-old son and the infant. She described the day as normal. Around 1 a.m. March 22, she fed and changed the baby, then placed him on a sectional couch about an hour later. She said she lay on the outside while the infant was positioned between her and the back of the couch.
Goodman told investigators she awoke around 3:40 a.m. and found the infant wedged between the couch cushions. The complaint states the baby was bleeding from the nose and head and was not breathing. Goodman called 911 and began CPR.
An autopsy found no signs of trauma, illness or disease, prompting a toxicology analysis.
Investigators later reviewed recorded jail calls between Goodman and the child’s father. According to the complaint, Goodman’s speech was slurred during a March 20 call. On March 22, she informed the father the infant had died and later asked him, “Should I go to detox?”
Toxicology results returned April 30 showed fentanyl in a baby bottle used during the infant’s last feeding. The infant’s blood also tested positive for morphine and xylazine, authorities said.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death a homicide caused by mixed drug toxicity.
During a May 15 interview with detectives, Goodman said the drugs may have come from substances she used while pregnant. She acknowledged prior Percocet use but denied using drugs after the child’s birth, claiming residue may have contaminated the bottle.
Detectives confronted Goodman with evidence of a May 12 overdose in her vehicle while picking up her 10-year-old from school. Milwaukee firefighters administered Narcan to revive her, the complaint states. Goodman told investigators she had been asleep.
A school staff member reported Goodman frequently failed to pick up her child and did not answer calls. The 10-year-old told investigators his mother was regularly under the influence of drugs and that he had multiple school absences as a result.
Goodman is scheduled to appear in court this week.
It’s sad and her 10 year should have never been interviewed without a adult present not understanding why they talked to him and why he would speak against his mom sad my guess of what could have happened was she had drugs in her system and pumped a bottle and gave to the baby not thinking about she was going to pass them to him because she doesn’t seem like type to purposely hurt her baby just sad baby didn’t ask to be here and now he’s not here and she has to live with that guilt for the rest of her life plus now her older son is left without both parents