Mother charged after toddler’s fentanyl death at Minneapolis shelter

A 37-year-old Minnesota woman is facing a criminal charge after her two-year-old daughter died of a drug overdose at a Minneapolis shelter in late May.

Prosecutors in Hennepin County charged Christin L. Vannett, of Bemidji, on Wednesday with one count of second-degree manslaughter in connection with the child’s death on May 28.

The girl was found unresponsive around 5:30 p.m. that day inside a living space at the Higher Ground emergency shelter on Glenwood Avenue North, Minneapolis police said .

According to the criminal complaint, emergency responders administered NARCAN and attempted CPR, however, the girl was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital.

The charge states police immediately saw signs of drug use inside the apartment, including capped needles, tie-off bands, saline solution and cotton balls.

Vannett allegedly told police she was sleeping on the ground with her child lying on her chest and woke up when the child’s father returned, discovering the girl was unresponsive with her jaw clenched.

When police asked if the child could’ve consumed narcotics, Vannett allegedly responded by handing officers a plate with a white powder on it and stating it could possibly be fentanyl.

Police executed a search warrant inside the apartment and located a plate with a white powdery substance, which field tested positive for fentanyl, according to the charge. Officers also located multiple pills and needles.

According to the complaint, Vannett agreed to speak with investigators again.

This time, she said she’d taken pills for a twisted ankle before falling asleep that afternoon, but denied placing the fentanyl on the plate and said she didn’t know about it. She did, however, admit to using fentanyl around 2 a.m. that morning.

The charge states investigators also spoke to the toddler’s older sister, who allegedly described seeing Vannett using drugs. The girl allegedly told police she saw Vannett "put a needle in her arm," the charge states. She also said her little sister took a nap on Vannett that day and did not wake up.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office this month determined the toddler had 9.7 nanograms per milliliter of fentanyl in her system, as well as 0.42 nanograms per milliliter of norfentanyl.

The girl died of acute fentanyl toxicity, the report concluded.

If convicted, Vannett faces up to ten years in prison.