The mother of a 22-month-old child that died of a fentanyl overdose has pled guilty to charges involved in the toddler's death, officials said.
On Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, Gavin Holihan, Lehigh County District Attorney, announced that Jayleen Rivas-Rodriguez, 35, of Allentown, has pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child after her son died of a drug overdose on April 5, 2021.
In a statement on the plea, officials said a charge of third-degree murder was withdrawn.
The child's father, 32-year-old Jorge Suarez-Santiago, of Milwaukee, Wis., has been charged with murder and other offenses in this incident. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Dec. 13, 2024.
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Officials said the pair were charged after police were called to an Allentown hospital after the couple's 22-month-old son, Johansy Suarez-Rivas, was brought in and was not breathing.
The boy was pronounced shortly after he arrived at the hospital and, officials said, it was determined that he died of fentanyl toxicity.
According to police officials, an investigation allegedly found that both Suarez-Santiago and Rivas-Rodriguez had been using heroin in the hours before their son's death.
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And, officials allege, Rivas-Rodriguez left her son in Suarez-Santiago's care and provided the boy's father with, what she believed, was heroin before she left their Allentown home for several hours.
Upon her return, officials said, Rivas-Rodriguez discovered the toddler unresponsive.
Rivas-Rodriguez is set to be sentenced on Jan. 24, 2025, and, a statement from Holihan's office claims she is facing five to 20 years in prison.
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