Traci Shuler was taking care of her three yr. old daughter when she died

[Sister Iroz]

An arrest has been made in the death of three-year-old Jessika Haberle.

Authorities were called to the toddler's house on February 23, on a non-responsive child call, and when they got there, they found the three year old unconscious and not breathing. They took her to Renown Medical Center, where she pronounced dead.

On Friday, March 13, Jessika's mother Traci Shuler was arrested by Sparks police, and was charged with child neglect with cause of death.

The toxicology results from Haberle's autopsy were released, and the cause of death was a lethal level of methadone in her system.

Methadone bottles, which were prescribed to Shuler, were found at the house. It was determined the girl was in the care of her mother immediately before her death.

http://www.krnv.com/global/story.asp?s=10004474

[Jerri Blank]

Trial starts for Sparks mom accused in methadone poisoning of baby

When 3-year-old Jessika Haberle stopped breathing Feb. 23, 2009 following a nap on her a bed, she was dirty.

Her hair was dirty, her legs were dirty, and the soles of her feet were “filthy,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Dan Greco said Monday in Washoe District Court. Her home at 930 Lepori Way in Sparks was also dirty and cluttered with items dangerous for a small child, he said. Three empty prescription methadone bottles belonging to her mother, Tracie Schuler, were found on the table near the bed where Jessika slept.

Toxicology and hair analysis concluded the toddler who loved cartoon character Sponge Bob Square Pants had more than nine times the lethal amount of methadone in her system that would kill an adult, Greco said. The hair testing showed that before she died Feb. 23 from the massive overdose that night, she had twice ingested methadone since August 2008, he said.

Greco told jurors Monday afternoon during opening statements that Schuler was responsible for her daughter’s death by either intentionally giving the girl the dangerous drug to sedate her, or negligently leaving her bottles around so her daughter could accidentally ingest the drug.

Schuler is the first person in Washoe County to be prosecuted for a fatal methadone poisoning, authorities said. She is charged with second-degree murder, child neglect causing substantial bodily harm and a gross misdemeanor of child endangerment related to the condition of her home.

But her public defender, Jennifer Lunt, said being a lousy housekeeper did not mean Schuler was a murderer. She said the methadone levels in the girl’s system were exaggerated because they were tested after the girl died, which causes a natural spike in the body.

“There is no question that Jessika had methadone in her system,” Lunt said. “The question is how did it get in her system.”

Greco said that Sparks police detective Jason Woodard had videotaped Schuler outside the police department following a March interview where he told her Jessika died of methadone poisoning. In that footage, Schuler blames herself several times, saying “I killed my (expletive) kid,” “it’s my (expletive) irresponsibility” and “I did it.”

But Lunt said those statements were not an admission of guilt, rather a distraught mother who knew she was the only one who was supposed to have the methadone. Schuler also asked the police to shoot her and called herself an “(expletive) idiot.”

During an earlier interview with the Reno Gazette-Journal, Schuler said she was breast feeding her daughter, which is why the drug was in her system. She said Jessika needed to gain weight so she could have surgery to repair two holes in her heart. She said the breast feeding was helping her gain weight. The girl also still wore diapers.

Greco said that every Thursday Schuler received a four-pack of prescription methadone bottles from a local clinic. The bottles are supposed to be kept in a locked box, with a padlock. Schuler was warned verbally and in writing that the bottles are dangerous and are to be kept away from children.

Schuler has told the Gazette-Journal she is a recovering heroin addict who takes prescription methadone to curb her cravings. She was taking the drug when she was pregnant with Jessika, who was born addicted and was given methadone to wean her off the narcotic. Greco said there was no medical or legal reason why the girl would have methadone in her system when she died.

Jessika’s father and the couple’s roommate worked full-time, leaving Schuler as the girl’s primary caregiver. The girl died after she was left alone with Schuler on Feb. 23. Her father noticed she had stopped breathing, and their roommate called police.

http://www.rgj.com/print/article/201...soning-of-baby

[Silkprints]

Another poor child that hardly stood a chance. Born addicted . I wonder why these mothers don't put the baby up for adoption ? I figure they get more money from welfare . I do hope they actually punish her

[OMalley]

The mother should've kept the meds locked up! Also seems like she didn't take very good care of the child.
So sad and pointless.

[TwiztidAngel]

does anyone else think it's odd to be breastfeeding a 3 yr old?? i seriously doubt breastmilk is helping her gain weight...it's called feed your f-ing kid!!

[crimsonsorrow]

these cases really piss me off because it is something that is so easily preventable. lock your medications away people!

[Mare]

does anyone else think it's odd to be breastfeeding a 3 yr old?? i seriously doubt breastmilk is helping her gain weight...it's called feed your f-ing kid!!

Not at all. A friend of mine just couldn't wean her son off breastmilk and she ended up breastfeeding until he was almost 4 (it was only nightly from 3-4yo).

The Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) recommends exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months and sustained breastfeeding with appropriate complementary food for 2 years and beyond. The World Health Assembly (WHA) adopted the Global Strategy as Resolution WHA55.25 in May 2002

[galadrial]

the lawyer says the question is how the methadone got in the baby's system?!?! fucking really??????her egg donor had it in the house - the baby ingested it somehow - the egg donor is responsible whether she gave it to her or the baby got into it.as crimson noted above - LOCK YOUR SHIT UP!!!!i take prescription narcotics and they are in a padlocked box in my padlocked closet - no kids could get to it without dynamite....hell, sometimes I cant get to it

[evervigilant]

Not at all. A friend of mine just couldn't wean her son off breastmilk and she ended up breastfeeding until he was almost 4 (it was only nightly from 3-4yo).

It's more for comfort than food at that age though. I think she's just saying that to excuse the methadone in the baby's system

[Silvahalo]

Accused murderer Tracie Schuler Haberle, 42, faced a judge with attorney Scott Freeman in December 2009

During an earlier interview with the Reno Gazette-Journal, Schuler said she was breast feeding her daughter, which is why the drug was in her system. She said Jessika needed to gain weight so she could have surgery to repair two holes in her heart. She said the breast feeding was helping her gain weight. The girl also still wore diapers.

Tho not very common in the states, other countries, especially 3rd world, very common. My 1st born would have gladly gone until 3 had i let him, lol. IF she was a preemie, small and recommended to do so, not odd at all really. She was still in diapers. My son is 3 and potty training very well. Bugs me that it says STILL in diapers. Most 3 yo still wear them part the time while training and overnight. And some toddlers just take longer to train, not like they are magically trained at 3yo. Ignorant reporter I'd say. But you know, as neglected as Jessika was I doubt she was being breastfeed.

Her hair was dirty, her legs were dirty, and the soles of her feet were “filthy,” ...Toxicology and hair analysis concluded the toddler who loved cartoon character Sponge Bob Square Pants had more than nine times the lethal amount of methadone in her system that would kill an adult, Greco said. The hair testing showed that before she died Feb. 23 from the massive overdose that night, she had twice ingested methadone since August 2008, he said.

Poor little one... very neglected, I bet she was ignored even forgotten often. I really hope the she wasn't given the med intentionally.
My god, 9x over....makes me ill. I love Sponge Bob too little Jessika, my boy is having a bday by that theme.
I'll think of you and the 4th birthday you'll miss and so many more.
Rest in peace Jessika Heberle....in heaven's light....never forgotten.

[VXIII]

Methadone looks like pink Kool aid, looks like it will taste good, a kid could open up all 4 bottles and drink them down. she should have had it in a locked box like she was told...

[badfish76]

Yes she should have locked it up but I am also calling total BULLSHIT on the breast feeding because:

1) The amount found in the baby would not be 9 times the amount needed to kill an adult after the mother took it and digested it and turned it into milk. The mother would have had to be about 20 times the OD amount for that to be happening.

2) A hair follicle test was done on the child and it showed that on 2 previous occasions between 8-2008 and 2-2009 (dates from memory, don't shoot me) the child had ingested methadone. IF it was from breast feeding as the mother claims the hair would have shown a constant use rather than 2 isolated instances. For this mother to be lactating still with a 3 year old child she would have had to been breastfeeding the WHOLE time.

She better get a new defense attorney because the lie this one thought up sucks really badly.

[tenntitanfan]

My pain management doctor has me on 20 mg of methadone and 30 mg of ms contin a day for pain (I've had 9 neck and back surgeries) and I still keep my pills in a locked cabinet in my bathroom even though my kids are 11 and 19. They have lived around the medicine for 10 years but I still don't let up my guard.
I keep thinking of that child having 9 times the amount of methadone in her system to kill an adult and it just makes me shutter. That is a lot. I know adults can take a couple of hundred of mgs. of methadone so that is alot.

[CadburyCremeGirl]

Okay. I'm going to say it.

That woman looks like she was rode hard and hung up wet.

/the insulting looks bit

But this is negligence. That woman KNEW she was to put that stuff away and be the only one taking it. If her daughter really was born addicted, she could have been taken to any child doc or even a freaking child psychiatrist who would give her a good plan of action.

My Psych 101 teacher talked about something like this(the babies being born addicted) but he spoke about women who did crack while pregnant(very bad idea).

On top of that, I know a woman who used to use heroin to the point where she looked like a skelton. She lists being put into a methadone clinic is what saved her. She took it like she was supposed to, and actually became a responsible mother.

WTF(why, not what) didn't this woman at least try to be a good mother? Honestly, I wish someone would have given that egg donor a hot shot(a leathal dose of a narcotic, learned the term from my grandmother, a psych nurse) and watched her die.

[Kindly One]

Is that... Boy George?

I used to work in methadone clinics. Just before I started at the last one, they had a toddler die from drinking the parents' methadone. In this instance the parents were GIVEN a lock box, and still couldn't get it together to keep their kid safe. Initially they were charged, the allegation being that they gave it to the little guy to get him to sleep, but they eventually dropped the charges. The parents' version was that the boy drank it thinking it was a soft drink, but anyone who knows anything about prescribing in this country (UK) can spot the bullshit. Prescribed methadone is dispensed in seriously child-proof bottles, so there's no way he could have gotten into it unless one was sitting around uncapped. It's also bright green and tastes like SHIT. Sugary shit, but shit nonetheless. Imagine rotting pond weeds with a bitter overtone and a thick slick of sugar on top. Still, I had several clients who insisted on being left on 'daily supervised consumption' in the pharmacy so that they wouldn't have it near their children.

Poor little girl. Dirty, unkempt, living in filth. And shame upon the mother for initially accepting responsibility and now trying to weasel out of it. If she had any gumption she'd be pleading guilty to the child neglect and child endangerment charges. You screwed up, your child died, do the time and use every resource they give you to try to make yourself into a better person.

[Whisper]

Testimony continues in trial of Sparks mother who accused of overdosing her daughter on methadone

Hours before 3-year-old Jessika “Jessie” Haberle died in February 2009, her mother told Sparks police she threw a tantrum and was difficult to put down for a nap — which she said was a common occurrence.
Jessie was a high maintenance child, and (her mother) stated she felt overwhelmed as (the girl’s father) worked and (her mother) was the primary caregiver,” Sparks police Det. Jason Woodard told jurors of what Jessie’s mother Tracie Schuler told him hours after the girl died.
Woodard testified Wednesday during the third day of Schuler’s second-degree murder trial in Washoe District Court that Schuler told him her daughter’s difficulties caused her to typically sleep only a few hours a night.

The following month, Schuler was interviewed again by Woodard, who informed her tests concluded Jessie died of a lethal methadone overdose. Schuler became upset and walked outside the Sparks Police Department to have a cigarette. Woodard followed and recorded their conversation with a digital recorder hidden in his breast pocket.

Several times Schuler says in the recording played to jurors: “I killed my (expletive) baby, I did it,” “My (expletive) (expletive) irresponsibility is what killed my baby,” “It’s my fault.”
veral times she asked Woodard to fatally shoot her.

“This is my fault no matter what,” Schuler said in the recording. “I’m going to go to jail for the rest of my life. Can’t you guys just shoot me now? It’s my fault. Just kill me.”
Chief Deputy District Attorney Dan Greco said Jessie had nine times the lethal amount of methadone in her system that would kill an adult. The child weighed 30 pounds, still wore diapers and had just turned 3 days before her death. She was dirty when she died, and had lived in a home on Lepori Way in Sparks that Greco said was dangerous living conditions for a child.
Schuler is a former heroin addict who is prescribed liquid methadone to curb her cravings. Greco accuses Schuler of intentionally giving the girl methadone to sedate her following a relentless tantrum, or negligently leaving her prescription in easy access so that the girl ingested it. Greco said hair analysis showed the girl had also twice ingested the substance before she died.

chuler’s public defender Jennifer Lunt said that during the second interview with Woodard, Schuler was in disbelief her daughter died of a methadone overdose, and claimed she did not give the girl any of her doses. Schuler, Lunt said, told Woodard her daughter had been safe in her bed, and wondered how she could possibly have ingested the methadone.
Police said three empty methadone bottles were found on a table near the bed where her mother said Jessie was napping before her father found her not breathing.

Lunt described Schuler as considering her daughter “her life,” whom she did not discipline because “she was just a baby.” She said the girl had two doctors, and attended day care twice a week for the socialization.

http://www.rgj.com/article/20101013/...r-on-methadone

Tracie Diane Schuler wth a memorial to her daughter, Jessie, on the front lawn of her Sparks home Wednesday Dec. 30. 2009. She has been charged with the murder of the three-year-old who died on Thanksgiving Eve of a possible methadone overdose

[tenntitanfan]

As someone stated earlier, those bottles would have been child proof. Also, after getting the childproof lid off, there is a seal on the bottle, like a ketchup bottle. And the most puzzling thing of all, why were the bottles near the baby's bed in the first place? Why 3 of them, I could possibly understand 1. (I'm sure I've read that question in this thread earlier but it eludes me).
I don't know about there, but here in Alabama the maximum dose given at a methadone clinic is 100 mg. in each bottle so that could possibly mean 300 mg. in a 30lb child.
Something that came to mind when I read the sentence about the little girl being "high maintenance" was that I'm sure a child being born with methadone addiction could have "nervous system irritability" which could include inconsolable fussiness and crying, involuntary twitching, excitability, and severe startling to sounds and movement.
They would have told her what to expect at the methadone clinic when she was pregnant. She knew her baby could have problems after it was born. As old as she was she could have said "Okay, I chose this baby", and not took the methadone or the heroin for those few months and then gotten back on the clinic as soon as she had the baby.
Oh, well, shoulda, coulda, woulda.
Another senseless death.

[Whisper]

Mom guilty of murder on methadone death case

http://dailysparkstribune.com/pages/...es_left_column

[Jerri Blank]

these cases really piss me off because it is something that is so easily preventable. lock your medications away people!

I'm moving this week into a new house, it's chaos.

My child is 2 and a half. The very first thing I did was buy a shit load of safety crap & got my hubby's drill and (with baby gates and gadgets in hand) went to work.

I went through the whole house with my gear tying up blind cords, battening down the hatches, etc.. I brought our meds and cleaning supplies in a separate trip to not lose track of them and took them all and locked em up high till I can figure out where every thing is going.

My daughters safety is number one priority. I don't think what I did is the exception I'm sure most people would do the same, just wish ALL people would.

I don't excuse this lady a bit. it took me a little extra time, so what, at least I know my child isn't gonna go in another room while I'm painting or something and strangle her self, pull knives outta the drawers, drown in the toilet or eat my scripts.

Accused murderer Tracie Schuler Haberle, 42, faced a judge with attorney Scott Freeman in December 2009

man she looks just like boy george to me

Mom guilty of murder on methadone death case

http://dailysparkstribune.com/pages/...es_left_column


In addition to the murder charge, the jury found Schuler guilty on one count of child endangerment and one count of child abuse and neglect resulting in death. She was found not guilty on one count of child abuse and neglect.

whaza what?

Sentencing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 14 in the courtroom of presiding Judge Steven Kosach. Prosecutor Dan Greco said Schuler will serve a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison.

Wow I'm kinda surprised by this...glad, but surprised.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

She looks less like Boy George in this mug... more like a Boy Named George.

[badfish76]

They should use her picture to keep people from ever doing heroine.

She is scary.

[tenntitanfan]

The picture of her in court and the picture DV has looks like two different people! I just can't believe how much difference makeup makes on a person.
Maybe I need to start wearing makeup more, I need some improvement.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

I am happily surprised at her sentence!

A Sparks woman whose toddler died from ingesting methadone was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison for the girl's February 2009 murder.

Tracie Diane Schuler, 43, will be eligible for parole after serving 10 years in prison under Washoe District Judge Steven Kosach's punishment. He told her she was the poster child for "man's inhumanity to man."

"We are killing ourselves with the cure," he said of Schuler's methadone, prescribed to stop her heroin cravings.
[...]

Chief Deputy District Attorney Dan Greco noted that Schuler had refused an earlier plea deal that would have sent her to prison for six years on a lesser charge.

"She can ponder that decision for the rest of her life," he said.

Schuler's attorney, Jennifer Lunt, described the case as tragic. She said Schuler was using methadone for so long because she was fearful of heroin's hold on her and self-medicating an undiagnosed mental illness.

"I love my daughter very much and never did anything to hurt her," Schuler told Kosach as her only statement before sentencing.

Jurors convicted Schuler on the theory that her messy housekeeping was so neglectful that she gave the girl easy access to her medication bottles. Empty medication bottles were found throughout her cluttered and filthy home.

Schuler was warned several times by medical professionals that the medications need to be locked away and out of the reach of children, Greco said. Stickers with the same warnings are on the bottles.
[...]

Greco blamed Schuler's poor life choices for causing Jessika's death that he said occurred like a "ticking three-year time bomb." He said that in 1995, Schuler gave birth to a heroin-addicted son whose aunt ultimately adopted him. Lunt said Schuler's criminal behavior escalated after she lost the rights to her son, but in 2005, she decided to finally quit heroin and opted for methadone medications to help her stop.

Lunt said Schuler learned she was pregnant after she began using methadone, and medical professionals told her that continuing to use it would be better for her child. Jessika then had to be weaned off the drug after she was born.

Several years ago, Schuler was sentenced to Nevada prison for a felony, Greco said. During that sentencing, also before Kosach, she told the judge she was kicking drugs and that he would never see her again.

"If she just listened to the crystal-clear warnings and followed the procedure of locking her medication at all times, we would not be here, and her daughter would still be alive," Greco said, describing Schuler's home on Lepori Way Sparks as a "danger zone."

"She should have been aware of the dangers," he said. "What better warning than to lose your child because you ingested heroin during pregnancy? This child never had a chance the moment she was born."

http://www.rgj.com/article/20101215/...n-resentencing

[Miss Anthrope]

Grrrrr! Why the fuck doesn't "life in prison" mean that she will be spending the rest of her fucking life in prison? Why is the English language so hard for the court to understand? Life should mean Life - not 10 or 20 years! this is bullshit