Uniontown mother charged after baby's fentanyl overdose, accused of trying to cover up incident
UNIONTOWN (KDKA) -- A Fayette County woman is behind bars after allegedly trying to cover up her baby's accidental overdose, state police said.
Gabrielle Arnold, 26, is charged with aggravated assault of a child, simple assault, child endangerment and possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia.
State police's arrest of Arnold came after a long investigation into what happened to her 1-year-old daughter at their Uniontown home.
"This occurred in October of 2021, so this has been over a year of investigation," Tpr. Kalee Barnhart, of state police, said.
On Oct. 15, 2021, state police said Arnold made a frantic call from her Franklin Avenue home asking for help.
"Initially, she did believe the child was choking but she did see white powder around the child's nose and facial area," Tpr. Barnhart said.
Arnold found her daughter in the kitchen, state police said. As the child was coughing, gagging and having trouble breathing, investigators said Arnold did back blows and tried sweeping the child's throat.
She then called her boyfriend, identified as Deondre Richardson, "about what they would say happened to the victim," the criminal complaint said.
"The mother told police the child got sick at Bailey Park," Tpr. Barnhart said. "She fabricated the details."
By the time the couple sought medical attention for the baby girl, state police said her condition had significantly worsened.
"She was unconscious and very, very sick," Tpr. Barnhart said.
The couple decided to drive the child to Uniontown Hospital, but by that time, the little girl's condition had declined so badly she had to be taken to another hospital.
"They transported the child to Ruby [Memorial] Hospital and that's where they determined there was fentanyl in the child's system," Tpr. Barnhart said.
State police said Arnold eventually told them she knew what was wrong with her baby from the start. She told CYS officials that she had lied to Uniontown City police about Bailey Park.
"She initially said she had no idea why the child was the way it was, but did explain she believed it was an overdose," Tpr. Barnhart said.
Troopers also questioned Richardson about his alleged role in the incident and where the allegedly fentanyl the baby ingested came from.
"The father of the child claimed a friend left the fentanyl at their residence and that's how the child got a hold of the fentanyl," Tpr. Barnhart said.
Arnold is in the Fayette County Jail and charges are also pending again Richardson.
