Two Arkansas parents have been charged in the overdose death of their 1-year-old toddler, who had enough opioid medication in her system to kill a 200-pound man, according to court documents.
Amber Gordon, 31, and Daniel Gordon, 32, each face a second-degree murder charge in the death of their 1-year-old daughter Brinly Gordon, who died on July 2, documents show.
In the initial aftermath of the death, doctors at an Arkadelphia hospital believed the toddler had died of natural causes, according to the court documents. But more than a month later, after the toddler's body was sent to the state Crime Laboratory, authorities with the Hot Spring County sheriff's office were notified that Brinly had died from an overdose, the documents said.
According to the documents, both Amber and Daniel Gordon are recovering heroin addicts and each had a prescription for the medication that killed their daughter. Amber Gordon was arrested last week on the charge, and court documents show her with multiple names, including "Amber Butler" and "Amber Gordon-Butler." The relationship between Amber and Daniel Gordon was unclear Tuesday.
An arrest affidavit written by Lt. Glen Pye with the Hot Spring County sheriff's office outlines the evidence against Amber and Daniel Gordon.
More than a month after Brinly's death, Pye received a call from Lt. Brian Daniel with the Clark County sheriff's office, who said he had spoken with the medical examiner who performed the toddler's autopsy.
"Lieutenant Daniel said that according to the Medical Examiner, [the toddler] had enough Buprenorphine in her system at the time of her autopsy to cause the death of a 200 pound man," according to the document.
Buprenorphine is an opiate medication used to treat heroin addiction.
Pye also spoke to a pathologist from the Crime Lab, who confirmed the toddler died from an overdose of Buprenorphine, according to the court documents. With that amount of medication in her system, the doctor said the toddler would have died within hours of ingesting the drug, the doctor said.
The court documents reveal that Amber and Daniel Gordon were at 143 Martin Lane in Hot Spring County with their daughter in the lead-up to her death. Authorities said there was a "significant quantity" of Buprenorphine pills at the Martin Lane residence. The Martin Lane address is the listed residence for Daniel Gordon, while an arrest report shows Amber Gordon with an Arkadelphia address.
Amber Gordon told authorities that she went to the Martin Lane address on July 1, the day before her daughter died. After she arrived, Daniel Gordon went to an upstairs bedroom where he prepared Subutex pills so he could inject it into his body, she told authorities. Subutex is the brand name for Buprenorphine.
Daniel Gordon said he did not use drugs while Amber was at the home, documents show. Amber said Daniel keeps her prescription and sells half of it to recoup the money he pays for her doctor visits, according to the court documents.
Amber Gordon slept with her daughter the night of July 1, and the toddler woke up around 9 a.m. the next morning and threw up, she told authorities.
Amber Gordon told authorities she then sat in a rocking chair near the bed, with her daughter and Daniel Gordon sleeping.
According to the court documents, Daniel Gordon then woke up around noon and later went downstairs to make tea. Amber told authorities that the toddler began to wake up and then threw up again. She realized "something was seriously wrong" with the toddler and began CPR, according to the documents.
Daniel Gordon told authorities that after he went downstairs to make tea, Amber ran down and said the toddler was ill, the documents said. Amber told authorities that Daniel then called 911.
Amber Gordon denied knowing how the toddler ingested the medication, but said she was aware that it's a powerful drug and must be kept secure.
According to the court documents, the Crime Lab ruled the toddler's death a homicide caused by "Buprenorphine toxicity."
The pathologist attributed the overdose to the "negligent handling of a dangerous controlled substance by the primary caregivers," according to the court documents.
Metro on 10/04/2017