Two alleged drug dealers in San Jose, California have been charged with murder for their role in the fentanyl death of a toddler in 2023, The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office announced on Wednesday.
“The charges come five months after Winter’s parents, Derek Vaughn Rayo and Kelly Gene Richardson, became the first in Santa Clara County’s history to be charged with murdering their own child with drugs,” KTVU reported.
Prosecutors are alleging that Phillip Ortega, 31, and Paige Vitale, 32, supplied 18-month-old Winter Doe’s parents with a “steady supply of opioids and shared the drugs, while the baby girl wandered inside the drug-littered San Jose residence,” according to the report.
Investigators found opioids and drug paraphernalia strewn about the home within reach of the baby, prosecutors are alleging.
“Evidence also showed that the two defendants consistently supplied Rayo and Richardson with fentanyl and methamphetamine,” according to the report.
Rayo and Richardson allegedly delayed calling emergency services for 12 hours to report the fentanyl death of their daughter on August 12, 2023. Winter died with 15 times the lethal amount of fentanyl in her blood, according to the report.
Officials said investigators also found pictures and videos showing all four adults using drugs in the same room as the baby.
“The fatal irresponsibility of the people around Baby Winter is shocking – and it is criminal. We will hold accountable anyone whose recklessness ended the life of that poor little girl,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement.
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