Police have arrested a 28-year old mom and booked her on charges of second degree murder over the death of her four-day-old baby girl who unwittingly sucked fentanyl-tainted breast milk from her two months ago in a hotel in Manhattan Boulevard in Harvey.
According to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s office, an investigation apparently showed that the baby died because of the fentanyl drug that the woman, identified as Lana Cristina, apparently had been taking.
According to a press release, deputies were dispatched to a medical incident at a hotel in the 1100 block of Manhattan Blvd. in Harvey on June 10, 2021, at around 3.40 a.m. Cristina called 911 after finding the child not breathing. The victim was pronounced dead at a local hospital that morning.
“Sheriff Joseph Lopinto reports the arrest of Lana Cristina, 28, of Kenner, on charges of Second Degree Murder. Cristina was arrested following the classification of the death of her 4-day-old child as a homicide,” the release stated, quoting Captain Jason Rivarde, in reference to the death of the four-day-old baby in June.
Rivarde added that a thorough forensic examination hinted at the dangerous narcotics in the mother’s system as the reason for the baby’s death.
“An autopsy, including toxicology, was conducted after the victim’s death. Toxicology reports were recently returned that led to the determination that the victim’s cause of death was acute fentanyl toxicity.”
In the process of the probe, the mother apparently admitted to using narcotics before breastfeeding her baby.
“A warrant was obtained for Cristina’s arrest and she was subsequently booked late yesterday at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center.”
In a related incident, another mom from Kenner pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Brandie Froeba, 38, also had her baby breastfed with milk laced with methamphetamine, which she used before she fed her hungry child.
