St. Paul parents arrested as drugs suspected in toddler's death, police say
ST. PAUL, Minn. — St. Paul police say narcotics may have played a role in the death of a toddler on Christmas Day.
Officers responded to a residence on the 1000 block of Fifth Street East shortly after 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday on a report of an unresponsive child.
Police say the 18-month-old child was transported to Regions Hospital, where they died.
The medical examiner will determine the child's cause of death, which investigators say may have involved narcotics. Officials are now waiting on autopsy results.
Two people were arrested in connection to the death — a 38-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman who are the parents of the victim— on pending second-degree manslaughter charges, according to St. Paul police.
The incident remains under investigation.
Nationwide, kids under 2 make up nearly a third of all accidental poisoning cases, according to Poison Control. Most deaths come from pain medications, but at least two dozen children died from street drugs over the last five years.