Woman accused of providing drug cocktail that killed 1-year-old – NJ.com

In what appears to be one of at least two such cases in New Jersey this year, a Newark woman has been jailed on accusations she allowed an infant to ingest a fatal dose of both legal and illegal drugs.

The arrest of Chaintae L. Gardner, 38, followed the May 13 death this year of a 1-year-old child in 200 block of 14th Avenue in Newark, according to Essex County Prosecutor’s Office records.

During a June 7, 2018, hearing in Superior Court in Newark — audio of which was reviewed by NJ Advance Media — an assistant prosecutor told the judge Gardner had admitted to investigators that she gave the infant adult cough medication while he was temporarily in her care.

Gardner was not the child’s biological mother, attorneys said in court.

Further toxicology tests, the prosecutor said, revealed the presence of cocaine and what a preliminary screening of the child’s blood indicated was methadone.

Gardner now faces charges of aggravated manslaughter, endangering the welfare of a child through drug use and strict liability for a drug induced death, according to court records.

During the June hearing — to decide whether she stayed jailed pending trial — Gardner’s court-appointed attorney argued the court was still awaiting medical reports and autopsy results, and that she had only been taking care of the child for a small period of time prior to the child’s death.

Judge Ronald D. Wigler ultimately granted the state’s motion for continued pre-trial detention, calling Gardner’s case “a very, very disturbing set of circumstances.”

A 34-year-old South Brunswick woman was arrested in June on similar allegations stemming from the death of her 2-year-old son, whom authorities said had ingested methadone. The Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office said the methadone had been prescribed to the defendant in that case.

In the Newark case, the prosecutor’s office said Gardner, who has been jailed at the Essex County Correctional Facility since her arrest, acknowledged going to a methadone clinic while the infant was in her care.

The state Public Defender’s Office, which is representing Gardner in the case, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday on the charges against her.

Court records show Gardner’s case has been referred to a grand jury.

Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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