ESPAÑOLA, N.M. (KRQE) — An Española woman has been arrested in connection with the death of her 15-month-old child, who died after being exposed to fentanyl, according to New Mexico State Police. Ariana Vigil, 26, has been charged with child abuse resulting in death and possession of a controlled substance.
Officers were dispatched to Presbyterian Hospital in Española for an unresponsive toddler last Tuesday. The mother claimed her child was exposed to Fentanyl paraphernalia in the form of burnt foil.
According to investigators, Vigil put her child on the floor while she cleaned off the bed. This is when the exposure happened. Vigil says she rinsed out the child’s mouth, believing they had put drug paraphernalia in it, and observed them for ten minutes before the toddler became unresponsive. The child was taken to the hospital, where they were later pronounced dead.
Vigil told investigators she smokes Fentanyl and left the burnt foils on the floor, according to New Mexico State Police. A search warrant was carried out, where agents found burnt foil and narcotics. Vigil was taken into custody and booked into the Rio Arriba County Detention Center.