Mom confesses to accidentally exposing infant to heroin that led to child’s overdose: ‘It never should have happened’

A Kentucky mother confessed to accidentally exposing her 8-month-old baby to heroin, which led to the infant overdosing, in disturbing audio released by investigators.

The Boone County Sheriff’s Office responded to a distressing call to the home of Brianne Ehlinger, 33, in Burlington in November 2023 after her baby daughter went into respiratory distress.

Following an investigation, Ehlinger and the girl’s father, Shawn Gardner, 35, were arrested in December once police discovered the child had gone into respiratory arrest as a result of overdosing on heroin, according to Fox 19.

Now, newly released audio from police reveals the careless mother confessing to officers how she exposed her young child to the deadly narcotic.

“It’s a lot,” a detective interrogating Ehlinger tells her in the audio clip obtained by Fox 19.

“It never should have happened,” a tearful Ehlinger tells the investigator.

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“Yeah, yeah. It definitely never should have happened, but from here, this is how we moved forward and makes things better,” the detective tells the mother.

Ehlinger shares with the detective that she’s struggled with drug addiction since she was 18 years old and had recently relapsed after being clean for two years.

Ehlinger sobs as she details how she used heroin before playing with her child and mistakenly allowed her baby to ingest the drug from her hands.

“Later on, I was playing with my kids, and I thought she had something in her mouth. So, I put my finger in her mouth to check her mouth and then she kinda, like… she wasn’t breathing, like something was going on,” Ehlinger explained. “So, we called 911 and I didn’t even think about something being on my hands.”

Ehlinger told investigators she typically washes her hands after using heroin but had forgotten before playing with her daughter.

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She then admitted to having heroin “on” her finger when she put it in her mouth.

The mother told police that Gardner called 911 when the infant became unconscious and stopped breathing.

Ehlinger then said she and her sister tried their best to keep the baby alive while waiting desperately for emergency services to arrive at the home about 16 miles away from Cincinnati, Ohio.

“Me and my sister gave her CPR because she was still kind of breathing, but she was going out of it,” Ehlinger said.

Miraculously, first responders were able to administer a life-saving dose of Narcan to the 8-month-old.

Ehlinger’s daughter spent the next few days under doctor’s eyes at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital before she was released.

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The child has since been taken into care of by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, according to the outlet .

Following their arrest in December, the negligent mom told officers that Gardner gave her the heroin.

Ehlinger also told police that she and Gardner used heroin away from the child before she accidentally put her finger laced with heroin residue in her baby’s mouth.

Both were held on $100,000 bonds as legal proceedings were pending.

However, Ehlinger pleaded guilty to wanton endangerment and endangering the welfare of a minor in May.

She will face sentencing for her crimes later this month and is expected to face up to one to five years behind bars, according to the outlet.

Gardner will also appear in court this month to face similar charges.

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