Rose Rej, 48, who was visiting relatives in Lincoln, Neb., was storing liquid methadone in baby bottles inside the apartment, police told The Washington Post. When the baby started to cry in the early hours Tuesday morning, police said, Rej “grabbed the wrong bottle,” filled it with milk and fed him.
Nearly seven hours later, police said, the boy’s parents found him “unresponsive, in respiratory distress.” He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he responded to treatment.
“It wasn’t until the child was found in distress that [Rej] realized her mistake,” police said in a statement.
Inside the apartment, where Rej had been staying for several weeks, authorities found marijuana pipes, rolling papers and a scale, as well as the suspected methadone bottle,
according to court documents cited by the Lincoln Journal Star. The newspaper reported that investigators also found a notebook belonging to the child’s mother, showing a $200 budget for methadone.
The child’s mother, whom
the Boston Herald identified as Rej’s daughter, battled a heroin addiction in the past, according to court documents cited by the Journal Star; when the child was born, he tested positive for methadone and marijuana, the newspaper reportedLincoln police said the methadone belonged to Rej. It’s not clear whether she had been legally prescribed the drug, nor is it clear whether the toddler’s mother is currently using methadone.
Authorities
told the Boston Herald that the child’s mother said she knew Rej was storing a methadone bottle near the other baby bottles. But the child’s mother has not been charged in connection with the incident, according to reports.
The child was removed from the home pending an investigation, police said.
Booking records show she was cited for child abuse and released from custody. It’s not clear whether she has an attorney.
Her next court date is set for May 24.
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