FREDERICK COUNTY, Md. — A mother who pleaded guilty to the fentanyl-related death of her baby boy was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison. Five of those years were suspended by the judge.
Heather Frazier, 36, of Mount Airy, was sentenced by Judge Julie Stevenson Solt to spend the next five years in the Department of Corrections. Frazier pleaded guilty to the charge of involuntary manslaughter on Aug. 22.
After being released from prison, Frazier must also complete five years of supervised probation.
“This is a tragic case where drug addiction has destroyed a precious young life and the parents are faced with the consequences of their reckless actions,” State’s Attorney Charlie Smith said.
On July 3, 2020, officers with the Mount Airy Police Department responded to a home on Walden Way in Mount Airy for the report of an infant in cardiac arrest.
EMS personnel transported the nearly 3-month-old boy to Frederick Health Hospital, but he died a short time later.
An autopsy performed by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined the cause of death as “Narcotic Fentanyl Intoxication” and the manner of death was a homicide.
According to the State’s Attorney Office, investigators determined that Frazier and her husband Jeremy Whitney Frazier were living in a basement apartment on Walden Way and had been mixing fentanyl in the same bathroom where they prepared bottles for their infant son.
Jeremy Whitney Frazier, 35, of Mount Airy, pleaded guilty to the charge of involuntary manslaughter on March 14, 2022. Judge Theresa Adams handed Jeremy the same sentence as Heather.