Two women face felony charges in separate cases in connection with the poisoning of their young children by drugs that ended with the death of a toddler who ingested fentanyl and the hospitalization of an infant with methamphetamine in her system.
Christin VanNett, 37, of Bemidji is charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Niindonis Goodman, from fentanyl toxicity after the toddler was found unresponsive on May 28 and died at HCMC later that night.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner found that Goodman had fentanyl in her system along with traces of norfentanyl, naloxone and caffeine.
Niindonis was buried in the Bellanger Family Cemetery on the White Earth Indian Reservation in June. An obituary for her read, “Niindonis was a sweet and innocent toddler whose favorite color was purple. She loved to snuggle, and her favorite stuffed animal was Lambie. Although she left this earth much too soon, she will live on in the hearts of all who knew and loved her.”
According to court documents:
Police were dispatched to an apartment at the Higher Ground Catholic Charities shelter in Minneapolis on a report of a child not breathing. Medical technicians administered naloxone to the child and performed CPR. The child was transported to the hospital and declared dead.
There were capped needles on the floor, blue “tie-off” bands for injecting drugs, saline solution and cotton balls. When police executed a search warrant they found a plate with white powder on it that field tested positive for fentanyl, they also found multiple pills and needles.
VanNett told the officers she had taken pain medication for a twisted ankle and fell asleep with her daughter on her chest. When the girl’s father, Jonathan Goodman III, returned home, VanNett said she woke up and found the child on top of her, unresponsive.