Three charged in overdose death of Rhode Island toddler

PAWTUCKET, R.I. — Three people face charges related to the overdose death of a two-year-old in Rhode Island last year, police said Friday.

Authorities responding to a report of an unresponsive child found the toddler in a home in Pawtucket Dec. 10. Authorities say the home had been used in the manufacturing and distribution of narcotics.

The child’s death was ruled a homicide after the cause was determined to be acute fentanyl intoxication.

Those charged include the child’s mother, 26-year-old Jessaline Andrade of Cranston. She faces two counts of child cruelty or neglect and a single charge of murder in the second degree. Andrade is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday.

Two men were also charged with murder in the second degree and were arraigned Friday. They are 31-year-old Stephano Castro of Providence and 33-year-old Yara Chum of Pawtucket.

It was unclear Saturday whether Andrade, Castro and Chum were represented by legal counsel.

The deceased child’s sibling, an 8-year-old boy, was also present in the home and also tested positive for fentanyl exposure. That child survived.

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