Inquest jury: 1-year-old died from accidental drug overdose

BLOOMINGTON A 1-year-old girl died accidentally of a drug overdose, a McLean County inquest jury ruled Thursday.

Laina Stevenson was found unresponsive in her bed by her father, Martin Stevenson, around 5:30 a.m. May 8 after the childs twin sister woke up crying, according to information given to the inquest panel by Coroner Beth Kimmerling.

Stevenson, 25, faces felony charges for endangering the health of a child resulting in a death. He is accused of allowing the child access to Suboxone, a drug prescribed to treat opiate dependency.

He was arrested Aug. 15 and remains in jail in lieu of $50,025.

The coroner said observations during the autopsy pointed to a potential drug overdose. Toxicology reports returned in August turned up evidence of what Kimmerling described as fatal concentrations of Suboxone.

Normal Police Det. Nicole Bruno testified thatStevenson and his wife Marta told authorities the children suffered from allergies and were given an allergy medication and a pain reliever before they went to bed. They also reported that Laina had trouble staying awake during her dinner.

MartinStevenson admitted to a drug relapse days before the childs death and to obtaining a prescription for Suboxone.

According to Bruno, the father initially said he took half a pill in the morning but later said he took an entire pill. Stevenson said no pills were missing and the mother told police she saw one-half of a pill in the bottle when she checked it around 9 p.m., said the detective.

The amount of the narcotic digested by the child and recorded in blood tests 13.1 nanograms per milliliter surpassed the 8.4 nanograms per milliliter considered fatal in adults, said the coroner.

Its not a fragment or a crumb were talking somewhere along a half or a whole pill, Kimmerling said of the drug.

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Inquest jury: 1-year-old died from accidental drug overdose