Recently released court records detail the events that led to the death of a 2-month-old who ingested drugs known as " bath salts ," but it's still not clear how the baby came into contact with the drugs.
The infant's parents, who court records say are homeless and "known substance abusers," were arrested last week on a charge of aggravated manslaughter of a child — six months since the baby's death.
Brandon Gavin, 40, was arrested July 18 and is being held in the Leon County Detention Facility without bond. He was already in custody for unrelated charges at the time he was arrested in connection to his son's death. Heather Metcalf, 39, was arrested on the same charges July 19 in Valdosta, Georgia, by the U.S. Marshals Task Force.
On Jan. 7, Tallahassee police arrived at the Casa Bella Inn and Suites on Apalachee Parkway in response to an "unresponsive infant." They found that the mother and father were in the hotel room with two other friends smoking flakka, a synthetic stimulant, the night before the baby died.
Metcalf told investigators in an interview that she normally tries to cover the baby with a blanket propped up by a cup to keep the smoke away, but she didn't use a cover the night of the death, according to court records.
"It clearly didn't work because I seen what he had in his system, which I was so confused about," she said. "I'm like, did somebody put it in his milk? 'Cause I wouldn't have done that. Or was it just us smoking around him?"
Officers sent multiple baby bottles that had been scattered around the hotel room to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for testing. Its report showed the liquid inside several of the bottles tested positive for butanediol, records say.
"When ingested, butanediol is converted into the date rape drug gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), banned by the federal government in 1990," according to the ScienceDirect website .
The medical examiner's autopsy report found that the cause of death was synthetic cathinone, or stimulant, toxicity but the manner of death was undetermined. The report also noted that the infant was "well-nourished" and "normally developed."
More: A new report shows drug overdose deaths still on decline in Florida. But why?
The couple was woken up the morning of Jan. 7 by a hotel employee asking them if they planned to stay another night, according to court records.
Gavin told the employee they would need the room for another day, and after, he noticed the baby was "unresponsive with blood on his face."
"Metcalf stated Gavin woke up frantic and told her something was wrong" with the baby, records say.
Gavin immediately started CPR, but when more blood started coming out of the baby's nose, he stopped and just held him until first responders arrived.
Breaking & trending news reporter Elena Barrera can be reached at ebarrera@tallahassee.com . Follow her on X: @elenabarreraaa .
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: In Tallahassee, new details surface in death of 2-month-old who ingested bath salts
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