An 8-year-old Kentucky child who was thought to have died from an allergic reaction to strawberries last month was really murdered by fentanyl, police revealed this week, and his stepfather is now facing criminal charges in his overdose death.
Trey Harris, an elementary school student, died last month of “fentanyl intoxication,” officials said, as his 33-year-old stepfather Antonio Person was charged with manslaughter on Wednesday, according to WFIE.
Person and Harris were living together, and it was discovered that Person had drugs in the house, according to a Madisonville police report.
However, doubts regarding how the toddler consumed the lethal medication persist.
“It has been confirmed that the kid died from a fentanyl overdose. According to the station, Officer Brandon Holeman has yet to confirm whether it was purposeful or inadvertent.
“The probe is still ongoing. So we don’t know if he swallowed it purposely or accidently, or how he came into contact with it, so that’s something we’re currently investigating.”
When the child developed a rash after eating strawberries at a high school fundraiser, his family administered Benadryl and bathed him before taking him to the doctor on March 14, according to Madisonville police.
The boy’s family brought Harris home from the hospital around 1:30 a.m. the next day, changed his clothes, and put him to bed.
When his parents attempted to wake him up for school some hours later, he was unresponsive and was eventually pronounced dead, according to authorities.
After it was feared that Harris died from the fruit, the Hopkins County health department issued a warning to discard strawberries purchased at the event, but the federal Food and Drug Administration said last week that they were safe.
Person, who was described as the boy’s stepfather in an obituary, was charged with manslaughter on Wednesday after being arrested last month for drug trafficking and unlawful weapons possession, according to police.
Harris was recalled as a “fun-loving child who adored playing pranks on his mom, especially and laughing,” according to his obituary.
“Trey dreamed of becoming a police officer in adulthood because he loved helping others,” according to his obituary.