A California mother is facing charges after her 18-month-old baby died of suspected fentanyl poisoning, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Santa Cruz mother Korisa Woll, 38, brought her deceased child the Dignity Health Dominican Hospital on July 28. The Santa Cruz Police Department quickly responded, observed the deceased toddler, and investigators soon learned the child died while in Woll’s care at her residence, according to the report.
The results of the autopsy are pending; however, early autopsy results showed a “presumptive positive” test for fentanyl and cocaine in the little girl’s system, according to the district attorney’s office. Her official cause of death has not been released.
Woll was arrested and booked into the Santa Cruz County Jail. She is facing two charges of felony child endangerment, one with enhancement for great bodily injury to a child younger than five years old. She is also facing an additional misdemeanor charge for evidence destruction, Mercury News reported.
“The Santa Cruz toddler’s death is the fifth child fentanyl death since 2020 in the greater Bay Area. Prosecutors from Livermore, Fremont and San Jose have charged parents with various crimes, including involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment and murder. Fentanyl is 50 times stronger than heroin,” according to the report.
The district attorney’s office told the outlet that the baby, whom they are calling “Zhorriah Doe,” was found dead in a bed with her four-year-old brother who was sleeping.
Santa Cruz police Det. Robert Caposio said that Woll had taken her child “to a known drug area and a residence therein” and that her alleged neglect “directly led to her death.”
Mercury News reported that Woll and her children, as well as her baby’s father, had recently been homeless until the father died from a fentanyl overdose in April. After the overdose, Woll reportedly took her children to live with her parents until mid-July. Her living situation after that is unknown, according to the report.
“The district attorney office’s investigation is ongoing and Woll’s initial arraignment at the Santa Cruz County Superior Court was delayed until Aug. 7,” according to the report.
