TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — A SaddleBrooke woman is charged for child abuse and second-degree murder for the overdose death of her 8-month-old son.
On Jan. 9, 2020, the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office responded to East Timberline Court in Saddlebrooke for an infant, Dominic Aleff, who was not breathing.
An emergency crew took Dominic to a local hospital where doctors pronounced him dead.
Sheriffs say toxicologists detected a high level of fentanyl in his blood.
The toxicology report also revealed traces of cocaine in the child’s body, but was not the cause of death.
Erika Wahab, 30, was booked into the Pinal County Adult Detention Center on Thursday, March 3.
Authorities are holding her on a $100,000 bond.
"The fentanyl crisis takes hundreds of lives in Arizona each year. To have an innocent child become another victim of this epidemic is beyond heartbreaking," said Sheriff Mark Lamb. "If you need any more evidence that we have to do something as a country about the flood of illegal drugs coming across our southern border, let this be it."
Wahab admitted to using fentanyl pills and cocaine in the house with her boyfriend.
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Bivian Contreras is a real-time editor for KGUN 9. Bivian graduated from the University of Arizona School of Journalism with a Bachelor's degree in Journalism with an emphasis in Broadcast and is currently pursuing a degree in Broadcast Operational Meteorology. Share your story ideas and important issues with Bivian by emailing bivian.contreras@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
