WASHINGTON — A woman has been charged in the death of a three-year-old child from fentanyl poisoning.
On February 15, Sasha McCoy was arrested and charged with first-degree felony murder in the death of her daughter on October 28, 2022. On Friday, McCoy was arraigned in D.C. Superior Court where she entered a not guilty plea to first-degree murder and first-degree cruelty to children.
The judge presiding over the case, Honorable Renee Raymond, found probable cause that the defendant committed the murder and ordered McCoy to be held without bond pending her preliminary hearing scheduled on March 8.
On October 28, 2022 at 4:47 p.m., D.C. police were called to 3491 Stanton Road, Southeast, for reports of an unconscious child. When they arrived at the scene they learned the child had been transported by car to United Medical Center.
When officers arrived at the emergency department at UMC they were informed that despite lifesaving efforts, the child had been pronounced dead at 5:09 p.m. Following her death, D.C.’s Special Victims Unit and D.C. Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) were notified of the child’s death.
During the course of the investigation, police spoke with two witnesses who said they were driving along Stanton Road when they noticed a large crowd outside. As they approached the crowd, they saw McCoy standing in the street with her unconscious child in her arms. Witnesses called 911 then transported McCoy and her child to the hospital because they believed they could get there faster than the ambulance.
One of the witnesses told police McCoy has a history of drug abuse and is known in the neighborhood to use drugs and is constantly high. Adding that McCoy did not live at 3491 Stanton Road and was unemployed.
At the hospital, McCoy told police she was a home health aide who was caring for a client who was bed bound and lived at 3491 Stanton Road. The client had been admitted to an area hospital and was not home during the child’s overdose. McCoy and her children had been living at the home listed above for four months.
McCoy told officials that around 8:30 a.m.her daughter came from the back bedroom of the house and said she was hungry. McCoy gave her a Jell-O cup and went back to sleep. Around 1 p.m. she was awakened to both of her children in the refrigerator and told them it was time to take a nap. She put both children down for a nap and went back to sleep on the couch.
An hour or so later, McCoy checked on her kids while they were napping and said they were still conscious and breathing. Some time went by and she went to check on the kids again and saw her daughter was unconscious with yellow mucus coming out of her mouth.
When asked about her substance abuse, McCoy admitted to using Percocet and smoking marijuana. She told officials she had been using Percocet on a daily basis and had taken some the morning her child passed away. When asked how she stores her pills, McCoy said in her pants or jacket pocket.
CFSA told McCoy that they would refer her to a substance abuse assistance program. To which she responded “not right now, this is not the time…I am not going to lie, I am going to get high as a motherf***er when I leave.”
The social worker informed McCoy that because she said that, they would be removing her other child from the home. Later that night, detectives from MPD and CFSA returned to McCoy’s home to do a walk through and search the home. While there, they found two blue pills and half an oval pill on top of the bed where she placed her child down for a nap.
McCoy was questioned about the pills and told officials “...when you’re used to taking them and having so many, you just pop’em, pop’em, pop’em.” During the search, she picked the pills up from the bed and attempted to take them. Officials stopped her and informed her that they were now a part of the evidence.
On October 29, 2022 officials were informed by doctors from the medical examiner’s office that the child had no significant trauma and her urinary toxicology tests were negative. As a result, the cause and manner of death could not be determined without further testing. Nearly seven months later, the final autopsy results for the child came back. On May 11, 2023 it was determined that she had passed away from fentanyl intoxication. Her death was ruled an accidental overdose.
Throughout the investigation, detectives reported getting anonymous tips from people regarding the child’s death. A woman called the police station and stated that she saw a man known as “Bo” give the child something just before she started choking. When detectives went to search the home, they were approached by a woman who stated “she [McCoy] shouldn’t have given that f***ing baby the candy.” Police said it was unclear if the caller and the individual outside of the home were the same person.
The police asked McCoy about “Bo”, she told them that he was not inside of the apartment during the child’s overdose. He was one of the people gathered outside when she came running out with the child in her arms.
This isn't the first time CFSA has had to open a case against McCoy. In September 2020, the deceased child had ingested marijuana during a party McCoy was hosting. When social workers went to the home to follow up on the report, they found three children unsupervised inside the home. McCoy told CFSA workers she went to smoke a joint and a cigarette at a neighbor’s house.
CFSA concluded the case by stating there was no evidence to support the allegation of substance abuse by the parent and implemented an intervention plan. Under the plan, McCoy agreed to refrain from being under the influence while caring for her children. The case was eventually closed.
In August 2021 a similar case was opened after McCoy’s newborn had been experiencing symptoms of withdrawal. McCoy told police that she had been using Percocet daily, including throughout her pregnancy. The baby tested positive for marijuana, but negative for Percocet despite symptoms of withdrawal. McCoy was placed on another intervention plan. The case remained open until February 3,2022, eight months before her child passed away from an accidental overdose.
Now the question remains, why did it take the district nearly a year and a half to arrest McCoy in the death of her three-year-old daughter?