Mom arrested for giving 1-year-old daughter heroin, leading to death

A mom in Maine was arrested in connection with the death of her 1-year-old daughter for allegedly giving the child small doses of heroin on numerous occasions to help the baby sleep, according to a report.

Kimberly Nelligan, 33, of Bangor is accused of rubbing the addictive opioid on her toddler’s gums about 15 times over the course of two months before the baby died on Oct. 10, 2018, according to court documents obtained by the Bangor Daily News.

Nelligan was arrested on Tuesday for the nearly year-old death, which the Maine medical examiner’s office said was caused by acute fentanyl intoxication, the paper said.

Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid — roughly 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine — which is prescribed to treat severe pain.

Illegally, the drug is often mixed with heroin to boost the users “euphoric effects,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

During initial police questioning, Nelligan denied using heroin. But she later copped to using the drug once a week for two months before her daughter died, police records state.

Her husband told cops that during that time he witnessed her rub some heroin on her daughter’s gums roughly 15 times, the report said, adding the baby was having sleep issues.

The mother also allegedly told her husband that giving her children heroin was common practice — as she did the same for her two other kids when they were younger.

Nelligan is facing child endangerment and possession of drug charges, but she may face more as the investigation unfolds, according to Bangor District Attorney Marianne Lynch.

The mother is currently out on bail.

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