(NationRise.com) – According to a Fox News report, the father and mother of a Virginia toddler who overdosed on a cocktail of drugs will serve over a decade in prison. Thirty-eight-year-old Jessee Gunn and 30-year-old Anna Raines pleaded guilty to one count each of child abuse and voluntary manslaughter in October.
Court records showed that investigators with the office of York-Poquoson County Sheriff tacked on charges of felony homicide after arresting the couple on neglect and child abuse charges in July. The legal documents also revealed that the family pediatrician, as well as Raines’ father, Timothy Lee, are also facing felony child abuse charges and will appear in court for a preliminary hearing on December 5. He owned the Kiln Kree Virginia house where the incident took place.
As reported by WAVY, Raines initially told first responders, who arrived at 9:54 am on July 7, that she left her baby girl with her husband eight hours before. While the toddler was officially pronounced dead six minutes later, court documents showed that the child seemed to have been dead for a longer period.
Police said that the scene was in total “disarray,” as officers noted piles of trash, unclean dishes, clothing, and a litterbox with feces. Officers found cigarette butts, loose change, and a pile of dirty blankets in the toddler’s crib. The police noted that investigators found loaded syringes and heroin within reach of the child’s crib and different types of drugs inside her diaper.
The office of the Tidewater Chief Medical Examiner described the death as an accident caused by an overdose of Xylazine and fentanyl. In a press release, the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office pointed out that high levels of nicotine exposure were also found in the toddler’s toxicology report.
Both Gunn and Raines will serve five years each on their child abuse charges and 10 years each on their manslaughter charges. Both of them will have to serve the two terms consecutively and remain in prison for at least 11 years.
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