2 charged in 17-month-old child's fatal overdose of heroin, fentanyl
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Two people have been charged after a 17-month-old child's death as a result of an overdose of heroin and fentanyl.
On Tuesday, the criminal complaints for 28-year-old Joseph Compton, of Elk River, and 31-year-old Andrea Intveld, of Little Canada, were unsealed. They made their first appearance in court Tuesday as well.
According to the complaints, Ramsey County officials were called to a house on the 200 block of East County Road B2 at about 3:15 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 4. Intveld's child was not breathing and was taken to Regions Hospital, where he was declared dead.
Intveld told police that she had left her son in the care of her boyfriend, Compton. She told authorities that he was a drug addict and that she feared her son had ingested drugs. She said that she herself had been clean for eight months. The complaint said that she gave investigators conflicting stories, including that she'd gone to the gas station for cigarettes when the child's emergency began. Both have had roughly 50 prior interactions with police, the complaint said.
Compton had left the scene before authorities arrived. The complaint said he already had a warrant out for him due to domestic assault.
Ultimately, during a post-Miranda interview, Intveld admitted to having used drugs recently and said she was in the apartment the entire time. The complaint also said that an officer overheard Intveld talking to Compton on the phone, saying that it wasn't the first time that Compton had gotten her son high, and that she wanted to sue child protective services for not taking her son away from them sooner.
Compton informed police that both he and Intveld had used heroin the day her son died. She passed out in the bathtub and he fell asleep on the living room floor. He told police when he woke up, the child was on top of him, not breathing. They both administered Narcan, he said, but it was no use.
Compton is charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Intveld is charged with two counts of second-degree manslaughter.