ALLENTOWN, Pa. - A 35-year-old Allentown woman pleaded guilty Thursday to charges she was responsible for her 22-month-old son’s death by fentanyl poisoning in 2021.
Jayleen Rivas-Rodriguez pleaded guilty in Lehigh County Court to involuntary manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child; in exchange, a charge of third-degree murder was withdrawn, according to the district attorney’s office.
Authorities determined the child, Johansy Suarez-Rivas, ingested a lethal dose of fentanyl while in the care of his parents.
Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan said the parents “consciously disregarded the high risk that their reckless use and handling of illegal narcotics was likely to cause death or serious bodily injury to their child.”
Besides Rivas-Rodriguez, also charged in the case is Jorge Suarez-Santiago, 32, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is charged with third-degree murder and related crimes pending a preliminary hearing Dec. 13.
Police were called to St. Luke’s Hospital-Sacred Heart on April 5, 2021, for a report of a child who was not breathing. The 22-month-old died a short time later.
An investigation found Rivas-Rodriguez and Suarez-Santiago had used heroin in the hours before Johansy died, according to the district attorney’s office. A forensic pathologist ruled Johansy died from fentanyl toxicity between the early morning and noon that day.
The father was alone with his son at their apartment in the 100 block of North Eighth Street for several hours, authorities said. The mother had left the child in Suarez-Santiago’s care knowing that he was intoxicated, and she had given Suarez-Santiago what she believed to be heroin earlier in the day, the district attorney’s office said.
Lehigh County Judge Anna-Kristie Marks accepted Rivas-Rodriguez’s plea deal in court Thursday.
She faces a sentence of five to 20 years in prison. Sentencing is set for Jan. 24, 2025.
