Utah police arrested a mother and father for giving their newborn hard drugs on the day the child was born, the Utah County’s Sheriff’s office reported July 21.
On April 9, Colby Wilde, 29, and Lacey Christenson, 26, gave their newborn the drugs hoping to cover up that the baby was born addicted, police say.
The Elk Ridge, Utah, residents now face drug distribution and child endangerment charges, the sheriff’s office said in a press release.
“They administered the drug hours after baby was born,” said Sgt. Spencer Cannon, Public Information Officer for the sheriff’s office, according to ABC’s KUTV.
Christenson was a heavy user of heroin and prescription pain killers during her pregnancy, investigators believe, and as a result, the child was born addicted to drugs.
In an effort to cover up that fact from hospital staff, addicted parents have been known to crush Suboxone or methadone and administer it in a crushed form to a child’s mouth or gums.
Wilde admitted to investigators that he gave Suboxone, a prescription drug used for addiction treatment, to his newborn while hospital staff were absent.
“It makes me sick to my stomach, for a number of reasons. You’ve got an infant who cannot do anything for herself, and the people who should be providing her nurture, and love, and care, are the ones who are harming their child,” Cannon said.
Police first came into contact with Wilde when they responded to a report of theft at a Walmart in Spanish Fork, Utah on June 26. Wilde, who was carrying his two-month old infant in a car seat, took several items from store shelves and attempted to get a cash refund.
He succeeded in getting the cash, but when loss-prevention employees approached him, he took off running. He failed no navigate the sliding glass exit doors and slammed into them, dropping his daughter in the process.
After dropping his daughter a second time trying to exit through another door, he gave the child to a stranger and fled in his car. A deputy later stopped Wilde in a parking lot and arrested him on suspicion of driving under the influence, possession of heroin and methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, and driving without car insurance.
Police added theft and child abuse to those charges.
Christenson was in the store with her other three children, boys aged 2, 4, and 8. Police arrested her on an outstanding warrant.
Officials took custody of the children and sent the infant girl to a hospital.
The father of the 8-year-old boy, the only one of the children whose father was not Wilde, was contacted by authorities. The father said he didn’t want to separate the children so he asked to take custody of all four children and was approved.
While the parents were in jail, a neighbor who took care of their pets noticed drug paraphernalia around the home. When police searched the residence on June 28, they did find drug paraphernalia, including next to a baby bassinet and a child’s sippy cup. They also found crushed and whole Suboxone pills.
Christenson later admitted to investigators that she gave the crushed Suboxone found in their home to her infant.
Both parents were charged with four additional counts of child endangerment, since all four children were living in the home.
The two younger boys and the infant girl tested positive for methamphetamine, according to authorities. The infant girl also tested positive for heroin and morphine.
Christenson was released from from jail on June 28 and Wilde on July 5 after posting a $7,500 bond. Both were rearrested when police raided their home and caught Wilde smoking heroin on July 18.
Their bail has been set at $10,000 in cash.
From NTD Television
