A mum has been jailed after her toddler tragically died of an overdose, having eaten her antidepressant tablets.
Little 17-month-old Kaiden Wood was found unresponsive at his home in Kentwood, Michigan, in June last year.
An autopsy later determined Kaiden had died from ‘acute Bupropion and Duloxetine toxicity’, both of which are medication commonly used as antidepressants.
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Hope Marshall, 27, was sentenced to at least 18 months in prison for the death of her son, following an agreement which saw her charge of involuntary manslaughter was withdrawn in exchange for her guilty plea to second-degree child abuse.
“I’m a mother full of guilt, shame, regrets and pain. A mother’s worst nightmare is losing a child but what do you do when your own actions are responsible?” Marshall told Judge Paul Denenfeld through tears yesterday (Wednesday 12 July).
“Kaiden is my world and I failed him so badly. I let my drug addiction destroy my precious son’s life and my two other sons’ life as well.”
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Kaiden’s father Kyle Wood also pleaded guilty to second-degree child abuse, having been sentenced in March to at least 30 months for his son’s death – with the maximum penalty for the parents being 10 years.
When investigators had searched their home, they found items including a soup pot filled with vomit, a marijuana pipe, Xanax and loose antidepressants – the latter of which Marshall said belonged to her.
Judge Denenfield said that, in the last six months, he had seen three cases of children’s deaths related to drugs left lying around, urging parents to be vigilant at home.
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He said: “Parents want to sit around and use drugs, whether it’s legal or illegal, I guess that’s a choice on their own.
"Children don’t make a choice of being tempted by things that children would normally reach out and try to ingest.”
Marshall told the judge that she hoped to turn her life around in prison and after she is released.
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“I hope you can see how badly I want to change my life and how sorry I am for my actions and how much I’ve reflected on them,” she said.
“I just want help and the fact that I had to lose my son to realize that is sad.”
Jess Hardiman