A Pierce County mother has been arrested after her 5-year-old son died from fentanyl toxicity in March.
Jordan Elizabeth Shank, 32, has been charged with first-degree manslaughter for her child’s death, which might have been from her supply of fentanyl. Pierce County deputies took her into custody Saturday on an arrest warrant, court records show.
Shank is scheduled to appear for an arraignment Monday afternoon, according to the Pierce County Superior Court calendar.
Deputies were dispatched on March 13 at 3:59 a.m. to the 14900 block of 66th Avenue Court East for a medical-aid call. Shank told deputies she woke up to find the child vomiting and not breathing. In a different statement, she told detectives her boyfriend woke her up and asked about the child, according to charging documents.
Central Pierce Fire & Rescue personnel were at the home and trying to revive the child. The child was pronounced dead at 4:33 a.m.
When detectives tried to interview Shank later that morning, she was asleep on some stairs. A detective noted she potentially was tired from alleged drug use since it was unusual she was sleeping soon after her child died, documents show.
Shank allegedly admitted to detectives that she and her boyfriend, who is also the child’s father, used fentanyl. She said she used the drug up to two times a day and did not smoke around her son, documents show. She denied using fentanyl when she went to bed with the child, claiming it was not possible he took the drugs.
Detectives searched the home and found drug paraphernalia and two plastic bags that were later confirmed to contain methamphetamine. In the child’s room, detectives allegedly found two pieces of foil with brown substance on them and a glass pipe that might have been used to ingest drugs, documents show.
A records check on Shank showed CPS reports from when she left her son unattended twice, according to court documents.
During an autopsy, the medical examiner reportedly found contusions on the boy’s body, but no traumatic injuries, documents show. The Washington State Toxicology Lab confirmed there was fentanyl in the child’s blood. The medical examiner determined the child died from acute fentanyl toxicity.
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