More than a year after baby died from a fentanyl overdose, Seattle parents charged with manslaughter
April 16, 2020
A Seattle woman and her husband were each charged this week with first-degree manslaughter in connection with the death of their infant daughter, who died in March 2019 from acute fentanyl intoxication, likely from ingesting her mother’s breast milk, according to King County prosecutors.
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Samantha De Leo, 36, and her husband, Christopher Keadle, 44, were each charged with one count of first-degree manslaughter Monday, court records show. They each posted $100,000 bail on Tuesday, and it does not appear that either was booked into jail, according to jail and court records. De Leo and Keadle are scheduled to be arraigned April 27.
“The defendants had the means to provide formula, or hire outside help to care for their baby, but instead attempted to care for her while affected by heavy narcotics,” Senior Deputy Prosecutor Emily Petersen wrote in charging papers. “While Ms. De Leo was obviously the conduit for directly exposing the baby to the drugs that killed her, Mr. Keadle was most often the person who procured the drugs for Ms. De Leo and without question aided in creating the environment and conditions under which the baby died. Both defendants are responsible for the death of their baby.”
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The criminal charges say Keadle and De Leo spent nearly $100,000 last year on cocaine and fake Oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl — and their phone records show they arranged for their West Seattle drug dealer to ship drugs to their hotel while they vacationed at Disneyland in California with their 6-year-old daughter in July, four months after Ava’s death, according to the charges.
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