Three children were found unconscious in Evansville, Indiana after snorting pills. According to authorities, the babysitter had allegedly taught the children the step-by-step procedure of snorting pills.
According to the joint statements of officers from the Evansville Police Department and Emergency Medical Services personnel, they responded to a call on Wednesday at about 5:21 p.m. when the children’s mother asked for immediate medical assistance following the alleged snorting pill incident.
Deana Nicole Byrd, 24, was taken into custody at once and is facing three counts of neglect of dependents resulting in critical bodily injury of the three children since the snorting pills incident happened under her supervision. The said snorting pills incident also charged Byrd with the dealing of a controlled substance other than for treatment and one count of theft. As reviewed by Law & Crime show to the court documents
In a conversation shared by Byrd and the mother, Byrd allegedly said, “(I)wasn’t going to jail for no kids.” When police interrogated Byrd, she claimed that the entire snorting pills incident was the children’s own doing, mainly because they like to snoop around her home and she never gave it to them freely.
The three children aged 8,9, and 15 had stayed over at the babysitter’s house the previous night and when the time arrived to pick them up she was shaken by her children’s states.
Medics had to revive the two younger children, but, luckily all three of them are recovering now. The children were able to give their statements about the snorting pills incident, telling officers that it was Byrd, their babysitter, who willingly taught them how snorting pills should be done. All three of them said the same thing according to a child service worker who also took Byrd’s children away from her.
READ ALSO: Indiana Mother Facing Charges For Neglecting Her Nonverbal Adult Daughter
The 15-year-old told officers how Byrd offered them the pills she believed to be Klonopin, Adderall, and Lyrica. She also showed them how to break open the orange pill capsules. The babysitter used a rolled-up Ramen noodle cup lid to teach them how snorting pills are done. She said the three took about 3-4 snorts each, of the three pills.
After searching Byrd’s house, investigators found the drugs involved in the snorting pills incident, particularly the orange capsules discovered also in Byrd’s purse while she was booked in Vanderburgh County Jail. Byrd’s bond was set to $20,000, ordering her to never contact any of the children.