MARION COUNTY, Fla. — Deputies in Marion County said they have charged a man and a woman after finding their 2-year-old daughter died of a fentanyl overdose.
Joseph Tierney and Jalynn Davis were charged Tuesday with aggravated manslaughter of a child in connection with the death of their daughter, records show.
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The girl’s death occurred on June 13 at a home on Southeast Highway 42 in Umatilla.
Deputies said they found the girl, Miya Tierney, unresponsive inside the home and administered CPR before taking her to a hospital where she died.
Detectives interviewed her parents, who told them Miya had been asleep in a bed for 30 minutes and that they called 911 after they found her unresponsive.
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The medical examiner determined in August that Miya’s stomach contents tested positive for fentanyl. Her cause of death was due to “fentanyl toxicity,” according to a report.
Detective said an investigation revealed that Davis sold fentanyl and that her husband, Tierney, was an active user of fentanyl.
Deputies said Davis and Tierney were criminally responsible for Miya’s death because they had her at a known drug location and failed to protect her from the fentanyl present inside.
Records show Tierney was already in the Marion County Jail for charges of tampering with a witness in a capital felony proceeding and of aggravated assault as these new charges were filed.
“For years, law enforcement has been battling the opioid epidemic here in Marion County, throughout the United States and at our country’s borders,” said Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods. “The senseless death of this innocent child is the ultimate tragedy, and it should serve as a reminder of why we must continue our fight to keep opiates out of our communities.”
The sheriff went on to say, “Everybody should know that if you or somebody you know uses drugs and wants to get clean, our community has resources available to help you. But let me be perfectly clear: If you are using drugs or selling drugs, and if somebody overdoses or dies as a result, me and my deputies will do everything we can to hold you accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
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