Arizona State Police The mother was arrested The case involved a 2-year-old child who tested positive for methamphetamine and fentanyl on Tuesday.
Christina Culp allegedly told police that her child’s father was at work when she accidentally came into contact with illegal drugs at her Tucson home.
“It’s so awful I can’t even put it into words.”
Culp said she woke up from a nap to find the child outside with blue lips and struggling to breathe.
Paramedics administered Narcan to the child in the ambulance and then a second dose at the hospital.
Culp was arrested at the hospital.
“The mother admitted to smoking both fentanyl and methamphetamine around 3:00 a.m. that morning while the child, her 5-year-old sister, and the father were asleep inside the residence,” court documents state.
Her mother stated that she stored the pills in a toolbox outside the home, but also in her purse next to makeup. Court documents state that the girl was found with makeup on her face, suggesting she was exposed to the drugs when applying her mother’s makeup.
KVOA-TV spoke with Jeff Mattson, who owns a business across the street from the home where Culp shared her children.
“It’s so awful, it’s so awful I can’t even put it into words,” he said.
Another person, who did not want to be identified, spoke further to KVOA.
“I think if people are going to do this, they need to be more responsible and make sure they keep it out of reach of kids,” the neighbor said. “I think we need to figure out how to get rid of this stuff. It’s affecting too many people.”
Culp was booked into the Pima County Jail on $75,000 bail on two counts of child abuse, and her children were placed in state custody.
A similar incident occurred in New York in May when 41-year-old Jimmy Lubert and 26-year-old Lisa Cate were arrested and charged with causing the death of a 16-month-old child after exposure to fentanyl. Another man was charged with selling fentanyl to the parents, and the child’s grandmother was charged with smoking crack cocaine in the child’s presence.
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